§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children in(a) England and (b) Wales have been diagnosed with autism on the latest date for which figures are available. [145690]
§ Dr. LadymanDetails of the number of children diagnosed with autism are not available. The Medical Research Council (MRC) published a comprehensive review of autism research in December 2001 which provides an authoritative overview of the current state of knowledge on the prevalence, incidence and causes of autism. The report was commissioned by the Department of Health. It is available on the MRC website at: http://www.mrc.ac.uk/pdf-autism-report.pdf
388Win the table. Information is not collected about the number and costs of drugs for dementia dispensed in acute and mental health trusts.
The report says that according to recent reviews, there appears fairly good agreement that autism spectrum disorders affect approximately 60, and more narrowly defined autism 10-30 per 10,000 children under eight.
In February 2002, we allocated a further £2.5 million to the MRC to help them to take forward their programme of work on autism. Between December 2002 and July 2003, the MRC held a series of four seminars to encourage the development of good quality applications for autism research funding. Topics covered in the seminars were gut and the developing child; brain and mind (neuropsychology and neuroimaging); autism in populations and outcome measures for interventions in children and adults. On 11 July 2003, the MRC held the first of their annual for a for autism research "Breaking barriers, building bridges", in conjunction with the National Autistic Society, to bring together ideas stimulated by the previous four seminars.
The MRC will be taking decisions on the allocation of research project funding for further autism studies in early 2004.
Questions on the numbers of autistic children in Wales are a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.