ADHD Services

Health and Social Care – in the House of Commons at on 13 January 2026.

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Photo of Jo Platt Jo Platt Labour/Co-operative, Leigh and Atherton

What steps his Department is taking to improve ADHD services.

Photo of Ashley Dalton Ashley Dalton The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care

We know that many people with suspected ADHD—attention deficit hyperactivity disorder—experience severe delays in accessing assessments. That is not right. We want people with ADHD to receive the right support in their communities. Our medium-term planning framework sets out expectations for local areas to improve access to ADHD services. The independent review into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, ADHD and autism will work with people with lived experience to identify challenges and solutions. The final report is due to be published in summer and will build on the independent ADHD taskforce report, which we welcome.

Photo of Jo Platt Jo Platt Labour/Co-operative, Leigh and Atherton

I declare an interest as the chair of the all-party parliament group on ADHD. ADHD providers estimate that untreated ADHD could cost the economy £11.2 billion over the next decade, largely due to avoidable impacts on justice, employment, education and health. Will the Minister commit to ensure that people with ADHD receive the support they need to succeed, and will she work with the APPG to develop strategies that will help individuals to reach their full potential?

Photo of Ashley Dalton Ashley Dalton The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care

Through the medium-term planning framework, which we published in October 2025, we set out those expectations. We will continue to work with trusts to develop them to make sure that people with ADHD, or suspected ADHD, get the support they need. I am more than happy to meet the APPG to discuss these matters further.

Photo of Tim Farron Tim Farron Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Communities and Local Government)

Roughly 50% of the young people on the books of child and adolescent mental health services in south Cumbria have ADHD or autism. The integrated care board provides no funding whatever to acknowledge that. That is a huge burden on those young people and their families. It stops them getting back into school and so on, but it is also a burden on all the other young people waiting for treatment for things like eating disorders. Will the Minister pay personal attention to this—obviously, it is her ICB as well—to make sure that children with autism and ADHD are properly supported through our CAMHS services?

Photo of Ashley Dalton Ashley Dalton The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care

As it is the ICB shared by my Constituency, I am equally concerned. This will be explored as part of the review and I am more than happy to ask the Minister responsible to contact the hon. Gentleman further on how we can take that forward.

Minister

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constituency

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