Chair of the Assembly Cross Party Autism Group, Mark Isherwood AM, has spoken in the Assembly Chamber this week of the distress last week’s vote against an Autism Act for Wales has caused amongst the autism community and urged the Welsh Government to give them the certainty they need.
Speaking in this week’s Business Statement, Mr Isherwood, who has long been calling for an Autism Act for Wales, said last week’s decision has hit the autism community hard and led to some people self-harming.
He said:
“I call for a Welsh Government Statement on its proposals, as we look ahead, for autism legislation. I’ve had, since the vote last week, some distressing reports to me of people who have self-harmed.
“There is a letter to the Senedd from the Autistic Women’s Empowerment Project, which says:
‘This week the Welsh Assembly, a beautiful, swoopy glass building, voted against an Autism Act for Wales. 24 to 27. So close. So few minds to change to change my world, but change they did not. Why oh why would we need such a thing? An act just for autism? An act of autism? An enactment of autisming? Because of me. Because of people like me. Because of my autistic community, my people and their families and carers. Because it matters.’ ‘Wales, I love you. I adore you … But you’ve let me down. You’re letting me down every day. And we need you.’”
He added: “Well, we heard earlier from the First Minister that the agreement with Plaid Cymru included a statutory underpinning for the other legislative and procedural changes the Welsh Government is implementing. The First Minister said that the people he spoke to in the autism community said they didn’t know what legislation would do, but that’s not what the overwhelming number of people in north, south and mid Wales have been telling us for years, and as recently as last Friday night in Wrexham, as recently as last Sunday in Towyn and Kinmel Bay.
“We know what it’s about. We know the Welsh Government said it’s going to monitor the implementation of its refreshed strategy and national plan and legislation but people on the autism spectrum need certainty. So, when will you be carrying out the initial reviews? How will you be reporting that, and how will you ensure that that legislation and that statutory underpinning will be brought forward at the earliest opportunity?”
In her response Leader of the House, Jane Hutt AM, said: “You did hear extensively from the First Minister this afternoon about our approach…….You heard also from the Minister for Health and Social Services about the way in which she is working with the National Autistic Society, working with actually a date in the diary again to look at their proposals and to look at where we are delivering in terms of a range of services to support people, families, children and young people and adults with autism.”
Mr Isherwood added: “Yes, I have heard about their approach, but there are no timescales and little detail – and just who do they think we are working with in the fight to secure this legislation if not the National Autistic Society, its branches and members in the Autism community. As the letter I quoted from also said “whatever we have now has resulted in nothing, no safety net.”