The 'Left stranded' report, published by the National Autistic Society and partners, shows that as well as significantly exacerbating the long-established challenges that autistic people face, the coronavirus pandemic has had a severely detrimental impact on the mental health of autistic people and their families. The already long waits for assessment and diagnosis services have been exacerbated even further, with only one in four children and young people in north Wales receiving an autism assessment from local neurodevelopmental teams within six months of referral, with many waiting much longer.

The pandemic has also laid bare the lack of understanding of autism within our education system, also severely impacting the mental health of autistic pupils. What additional help can the Welsh Government therefore give these services now to bring down these long waits, to provide people with the support they need as quickly as possible? And, given the Welsh Government's previous commitment to ensuring that all teachers receive mandatory training in autism as part of their initial teacher training, which is needed now more than ever, can the Minister provide an update on plans to deliver this?