Welsh Government’s Autism Code of Practice failing to deliver, claims North Wales MS

North Wales MS, Mark Isherwood, who is also serving as the Chair of the Senedd’s Cross-Party Autism Group, has raised significant concerns about the Welsh Government’s handling of the Autism Code of Practice.

Mr Isherwood pointed out that the Code, meant to safeguard and support autistic individuals and their families, is often not properly implemented or monitored, leading to widespread distress.

Responding to an ‘Evaluation of the Autism Code of Practice and Neurodivergence Update’ statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Services, Mr Isherwood referred to several cases in North Wales where people with autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions have been mistreated.

These incidents underscore the need for the Welsh Government to respond effectively to these pressing issues.

The Code of Practice was introduced after proposals for an Autism (Wales) Bill by Mr Isherwood and subsequently Paul Davies MS were defeated.

The Code was designed to reinforce existing duties under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and the NHS (Wales) Act 2006. However, despite the Welsh Government’s assurances of robust monitoring powers and intervention capabilities, Mr Isherwood questioned the effectiveness of these measures in practice.

The Flintshire-based MS described encountering numerous cases where service providers and commissioners either overlooked the Code of Practice or claimed compliance without substantiating it.

Mr Isherwood conveyed the frustrations and harm experienced by many autistic people and their families, who often feel ignored and blamed.

He said: “Earlier this year, I attended a Care and Support Assessment at a constituent’s request, at which the conduct of Council officers drove the Mother into an Autistic meltdown, which is not the same as a temper tantrum, and not bad or naughty behaviour, but occurs when a person is completely overwhelmed.

“How do you respond to the letter then sent by the Council’s Social Services Chief Officer, accusing the mother of verbal abuse and dictating how future contact would be managed?

“How do you respond to the allegations I received that young Autistic people in Wales are still being sent to Mental Institutions outside Wales, one of whom, for example, died in institutional care last November?

“How do you respond to the parents of Autistic children, whose children had been Sectioned as a result of placement breakdown and failure of Local Authority provision, who told Hefin David (MS) and me last month, that our ability to understand the extent of this problem and monitor it is restricted by the lack of available up-to-date data?

“Last month I had a Short Debate here on ‘Parental Blame and the Pathological Demand Avoidance Profile of Autism’, which described the personal experience of parents subjected to misaligned scrutiny and blame by their respective local authorities in respect of their children’s autistic presentations.

“How do you respond to the cases I detailed in this, including the Flintshire Mum who stated ‘Flintshire’s culture seems to be that of bullying, victimisation and cover-ups of serious safeguarding concerns and threats to remove children in order to gag the parents who complain’?

“And how do you respond to the Statement by the National Autistic Society’s Education and Transition Advice Co-ordinator for Wales in January’s Cross-Party Autism Group Meeting that the service receives the highest call volume from Flintshire – or to the Wrexham Mum who stated ‘the very ALN unit staff supposed to be advocating for our Year 11 son are doing the complete opposite’, and whose Education Tribunal was this month?”

Speaking afterwards, Mr Isherwood said: “Given the seriousness of the issues I raised, it is disgraceful that the Minister dodged these by stating that she cannot become involved in individual cases, when the individual cases I referred to were used as examples only of wider endemic problems which demand Welsh Government intervention”.

In response, Julie Morgan MS, Deputy Minister for Social Services, acknowledged Mr Isherwood’s contributions and efforts in advocating for people with neurodivergence.

She defended the government’s approach, emphasising the expansion of the national autism team to include a broader range of neurodivergent conditions.

While expressing regret over the distress caused to constituents, she maintained that her role as a Government Minister precluded direct intervention in individual cases.

The Deputy Minister highlighted ongoing efforts to improve support systems, including the development of a more effective response mechanism beyond the existing helpline.