Current status: Answered by Maree Todd on 10 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what funding it will provide for adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism assessments in the Aberdeenshire Council area in 2025-26.
The recently approved 2025-26 Budget will provide a record £21.7 billion for Health & Social Care next year, including £16.2 billion for NHS Boards.
NHS Boards and other local partners are responsible for prioritising funding to ensure that their local population receives the highest quality of care and treatment at the right time and in the right place.
I expect any body responsible for planning and delivering health services to the public in Scotland to operate within the relevant strategic and statutory frameworks. Scottish Government officials are engaging with Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership and NHS Grampian about their plans.
We are working with NHS Boards and partners to improve access to diagnosis and we have commissioned the National Autism Implementation Team (NAIT) to support local health partners to develop, enhance and redesign existing local neurodevelopmental services. As part of this, NAIT is also working with NHS Boards to build a neurodevelopmentally informed workforce in Scotland.
Through our £1 million Adult Autism Support Fund (AASF), the Scottish Government funds SensationALL, which provides support to autistic adults in both Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. Whilst this support does not include assessments, a diagnosis is not required to access the service, and the majority of service users have reported improved wellbeing as a consequence of this support.