Part of 2. 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport – in the Senedd at 3:04 pm on 13 July 2016.
I thank the Member for her question and her genuine interest in this area. We’ve had half a discussion about this and I’m sure we’ll have more discussions through the life of this Assembly term. You’ll be aware that we’re due to have an autism strategy. We had a consultation that concluded shortly after the election. We’re analysing the responses and we want to make sure that the action that we take is actually about improving the position for individuals and their families, so for the carer group around individuals with this developmental condition—it really does matter too. And, we’re investing new money in the service. At the end of this year, I expect us to be able to publish our new strategy and action plan with the investment that will go with that. I do believe that we will see improved outcomes for families and the people within them, because these are a range of conditions that many Members in this Chamber will understand, from either direct experience or from constituents—I certainly have members of my extended family, and so I do have some understanding of the impact this can have on changing the lives of whole groups of people around them. We want to make sure that our service provides the support that they would quite rightly expect.