I’d like to thank Paul Davies for bringing this motion, and I support the Member’s motion to introduce an autism Bill. I doubt that anyone here would disagree with the principle that the rights of people with autism should be protected and promoted. The clearest and most effective way to do that is by legislation, and it’s a great pity that the Minister will be abstaining on this motion today. Introducing legislation sends out the message to public bodies and others, including autistic people, that their Government is serious about the needs of autistic people. It is a way to change behaviours in the same way that the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 changed behaviours in the workplace. An autism (Wales) Act would place a focus on people affected by autism and incentivise local authorities and health boards to give greater priority to them. Yes, we need to be wary of legislating for legislation’s sake, but I do not think this is the case here.

The proposed Bill seeks to place on a legal footing strategies and pathways to diagnosis and meeting the needs of autistic people. An autism Bill would complement the additional learning needs Bill, which addresses the support needed in the education system by people with autism and other conditions. Indeed, it seems illogical and contrary to place into law the good principles of the ALN Bill in the education setting, but not to do the same in respect of specific conditions like autism in other settings. After all, children and young people with autism do not leave it at the school or college gate at the end of each day or when they complete education.

However, I am wary of imposing further duties on local authorities and health boards when they may well not have the infrastructure or resources to comply, leading to cuts in other areas. Such duties should therefore be primarily on Welsh Government or, alternatively, upon local authorities and health boards with a corresponding duty on Welsh Government to ensure that local authorities and health boards are given the resources they reasonably need to comply with their new duties. It is vital, particularly where there are limited funds available, to properly apply that funding where it is needed. To do that, you need accurate and reliable data and a proper analysis to map service provision onto likely demand. It should be obvious to everyone here that if you do not possess reliable data about how many people are affected by autism, the likely level of need and the distribution of people with autism across Wales, any service planning is going to be basically down to guesswork.

Legislation would provide the impetus for local authorities and health boards to review and improve their data collection, although I sincerely hope they’re already doing this. Introducing an autism (Wales) Bill would underpin the provision of support for autistic people. I’m sure that people with autism, their friends, families and support workers will be closely watching the result of the vote on this motion at the end of today to see how high on the priority list their Assembly Member puts them. I urge the Members of this Assembly to vote in favour of this motion. Thank you.