Member

I now turn to Amendment 34, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Barker, on the topic of mandatory training in diagnosis and treatment of autistic people and people with a learning disability for those who have treatment and diagnostic responsibilities. Like the noble Earl, Lord Howe, I agree that it is essential that professionals have the skills and knowledge to make an informed diagnosis so that appropriate care and treatment are provided. The Health and Care Act 2022 requires that all CQC-registered health and adult social care providers ensure that their staff receive specific training on learning disability and autism. As the noble Lord, Lord Kakkar, said, this training must be appropriate to the staff member’s role, to help ensure they have the right knowledge and skills to provide safe and informed care. While understanding the intention, we believe that the amendment is unnecessary, given the existing statutory requirement on health and care professionals that exists in other legislation.