Alliance Party Councillor Patrick Brown has taken a strong stance on the recent row over the funding for autism sufferers.
He has said that Health Minister Simon Hamilton’s announcement that an extra £2 million of funding will be used to recruit staff to tackle autism assessment waiting lists does not go far enough, and he added, “although I welcome the Minister’s announcement, more can be done and more should have already been done to support children and people of all ages living with autism.
“The £2 million promised is indeed ‘the first step’ and a good start, but I am sceptical of the impact this funding can make. I am concerned that the Minister is throwing not a lot of money at the problem to make it go away – it’s no coincidence the funding boost was announced on a Sunday (an unusual day for Ministerial announcements), prior to a large demonstration by supporters outside Stormont on Monday morning.
“It’s not clear if the new jobs created from the funding to help reduce waiting times will have any considerable or quick impact on those who have been waiting 20 months for assessment – especially considering it will take at least 6 months to advertise, recruit and train for the new roles’.
“Furthermore it is a downright disgrace that this is the first time any Health Minister has done anything meaningful to boost autism services since the introduction of the Autism Act of 2011.
“Let us not forget the ‘hidden generation’ of autistic adults who continue to receive no specific service support. This announcement in response to the petition and less than three months away from an Assembly election feels like politicking at its worst to me, and if it wasn’t for the sterling work of parents and campaigners across the Province, I’m not sure anything would have been done at all”, Councillor Brown added.
