Dr Chloe Farahar (they/she) | Aucademy CIC©

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On this page you will find two versions of this blog about the House of Lords debate on the Autism Act happening on the 10th of June 2026.

There is a blog plain language version and an easy read version.

Click the title of the version you would like to read below.

Time to deliver: Why the House of Lords debate on the Autism Act matters

On Wednesday 10 June, the House of Lords will debate something that should matter to every Autistic person in England – and to everyone who works alongside us. The subject is the future of the Autism Act 2009, and of the strategy that is meant to give that law its teeth. Simply put, this is a debate about whether the promises made to Autistic people will finally be delivered.

The debate takes place on Wednesday 10 June, starting at around 2:50pm and lasting up to three hours. You can watch it live online at parliamentlive.tv.

What the Autism Act actually does

The Autism Act 2009 is a law for, and about, Autistic people in England. It is short – but its purpose is significant. The Act requires the Government to publish an autism strategy (a plan to improve Autistic people’s lives), and to back that strategy with statutory guidance telling the NHS and local authorities what they must do.

In other words, the Act is the legal hook on which everything else hangs. The current strategy runs from 2021 to 2026. It expires in July 2026 – and that deadline is precisely why this moment matters.

A Committee, and a report worth reading

In January 2025, the House of Lords appointed a Select Committee on the Autism Act 2009, chaired by Baroness Rock, to examine how well the Act and its strategies have worked, and what should come next. The Committee heard from dozens of Autistic people and those who support us, and took written evidence from hundreds more. Dr Chloe Farahar of Aucademy was invited to present evidence, and you can read more about the Autism Act 2009 review, held 2025, and what Chloe said here.

The Committee’s final report, Time to deliver: The Autism Act 2009 and the new autism strategy, was published on 23 November 2025. The Government published its response in January 2026. The debate on 10 June is where the report is formally considered – and where the Committee will, in its own words, judge the Government against the commitments it has made.

What the report found

The Committee is honest about progress. The Act, successive strategies and statutory guidance have driven real change: they set out who is responsible for meeting Autistic people’s needs, brought more of us into decisions about our own services, and expanded access to adult autism assessment.

But the report does not soften its central finding. The Act and the strategies that followed have failed to tackle the key barriers standing in the way of better outcomes. At the same time, the numbers of Autistic people and families seeking assessment and support have risen sharply – because understanding has grown, because more of us are struggling to cope, and because overstretched services have quietly raised the bar for who qualifies for help. One witness captured it starkly: the report describes a situation in which the state is fighting the state.

The detail is sobering, and worth naming directly:

Autistic people face stark health inequalities and die younger than the general population, with Autistic women far more likely to die by suicide.
Too many Autistic children are unhappy in mainstream schools; rising numbers of families turn to home education not by choice but because school is no longer an option, and suspension and exclusion rates remain too high.
A persistent employment gap shuts capable Autistic people out of work.
Autistic people remain too often detained in mental health inpatient settings – in some cases for years – when the right community support could have prevented it.

Six themes for a new strategy

Crucially, the Committee does not stop at criticism. It sets out a path. It calls on the Government to begin developing a new, cross-government, all-age autism strategy immediately, so that it is ready the moment the current one expires in July 2026 – with a proper implementation plan attached. The report recommends building that strategy around six themes:

Improving understanding, acceptance and accessibility.
Identification, assessment and support.
Reducing health inequalities and building support in the community.
Access to education and transitions to adulthood.
Employment.
Criminal justice.

Why the timing is everything

There is a cliff edge approaching. If the current strategy expires in July 2026 with nothing ready to replace it, Autistic people are left in a policy vacuum. The Committee has been clear that this cannot happen, and that each of its recommendations needs urgent action. The 10 June debate is a moment to hold that commitment to account before the deadline arrives.

What must be true this time

A strategy is only as good as the people it serves – and the people who shape it. If the new strategy is to succeed where its predecessors fell short, Autistic people cannot be treated as an afterthought or a box to tick. We must be partners and decision-makers in the work, not merely consulted once the important choices have already been made. That principle runs through the Committee’s own approach: it went to considerable lengths to make its work accessible, and it asks the Government to do the same.

There is also a deeper argument here, and it is one I return to often. Autistic people do better when we belong – when environments are built around how we actually experience the world, rather than expecting us to mask, cope and unravel in silence. A strategy that embraces neurodivergence as difference, not deficit, and that gets the right support to people at the right time, is not a luxury. It is the difference between Autistic people surviving and Autistic people thriving.

I work hard as a disabled Autistic person to achieve real improvement in my role for my local NHS, and I have met amazing NHS colleagues who are with me when it comes to making changes that improve and save lives in Kent and Medway. Learn about my work here.

How to watch, and where to read more

The debate will be opened by Baroness Rock, followed by Committee members and other peers, then by the Liberal Democrat and Conservative front benches, and finally by Baroness Merron, the Minister at the Department of Health and Social Care, before Baroness Rock’s closing remarks. Watch it live at parliamentlive.tv from around 2:50pm on Wednesday 10 June. It is also possible to attend in person via the public gallery on a first-come, first-served basis.

If you would like to read the source material, the links below are well worth your time – please do share them with anyone who would find them useful:

The next year will decide whether the new strategy is a genuine turning point or another missed opportunity. I will be watching on 10 June. I hope you will too.

The Autism Act – An Easy Read blog

Written by Dr Chloe Farahar

What is happening?

On Wednesday 10 June, a group of people in Parliament will talk about autism and the law.

This group is called the House of Lords. They help make the laws for our country.

What is the Autism Act?

The Autism Act 2009 is a law for Autistic people in England.

The law says the Government must have a plan to make life better for Autistic people. This plan is called the autism strategy.

The strategy also tells the NHS and councils what they must do to help Autistic people.

Why are people talking about it?

A group of people in the House of Lords looked at how well the law and the plan are working. This group is called a Committee. Baroness Rock is in charge of it.