I'd like to thank the Welsh Conservatives for tabling this debate. The Welsh Government rejected Paul’s autism Bill, telling us that we didn't need an autism Act because the Welsh Government is delivering real change in services for those on the autism spectrum. But that's not always so, is it? Because Welsh Government assertions do not match delivery on the front line.

We are failing on diagnostic waiting times, and Welsh Government introduced a waiting time for referral to neurodevelopmental assessment that is twice the waiting time suggested by NICE guidelines. There is no Wales-wide data for this waiting time, but anecdotal evidence from some patients suggests that the 26-week target is not being met. Demand for services is far outstripping supply in many areas. Many adults are unable to receive a diagnosis, and are therefore left without support. This was one of the key reasons for the creation of the integrated autism service. The lack of data collection and reporting makes it difficult to assess whether the Welsh Government’s assertion that the services simply need time to bed in is accurate. For the past two years, we were supposed to receive data on waiting times for diagnostics, and to date this information has not been published for children, young people or adults.

The 'Evaluation of the Integrated Autism Service and the Autism Spectrum Disorder Strategic Action Plan' report by doctors Holtom and Lloyd-Jones from People and Work makes it clear that while there has been progress, there is a lack of resources and a postcode lottery of support for adults on the autism spectrum. The report clearly highlights our failure to support adults on the spectrum, and it is telling that most of the adults who contributed to the report were not diagnosed before they experienced a crisis. This is not good enough. And I still maintain that Wales needs an autism Act, and until we get our act together, people of all ages on the spectrum will suffer as a consequence. As doctors Holtom and Lloyd-Jones point out, access to social care remains difficult despite the existence of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.

If the Welsh Government will not support an autism Act, then they must fully implement the recommendations of the 'Evaluation of the Integrated Autism Service and the Autism Spectrum Disorder Strategic Action Plan' report. The committees, following their pre-legislative scrutiny of Paul Davies’s autism Bill—. We have made progress, but this progress is not fast enough, and change is not happening quickly enough. We have been discussing improvements to autism services for many years, yet we are still letting down autistic people and their families. It is time for the Welsh Government to act or to introduce the Act that we have all been calling for. We can’t afford more wasted years, and those on the spectrum can’t wait much longer. Diolch yn fawr.