Jodie Gosling

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Sefton Central (Bill Esterson) for highlighting this hugely important issue. My inbox, like many people’s, is full of parents with children who are struggling, especially those who have comorbidities. Their combined conditions make them doubly disadvantaged, and their unmet needs cause significant harm to their physical and mental health, hugely increasing their complexity and meaning that their years of education are not used to maximise their potential. In Warwickshire, there seems to be a Catch-22 with ADHD waiting lists. Coventry and Warwickshire ICB’s waiting list now stands at more than 7,500 children—a 10-year waiting list for some. The ICB often does not accept ADHD referrals for under-sevens, despite the evidence showing that this early period is when interventions are most impactful. Potentially, the earliest a child can expect a diagnosis is at 17, after their entire educational career. The adult waiting list, as we heard from my hon. Friend the Member for North Warwickshire and Bedworth (Rachel Taylor), has been closed since May 2025. It is due to reopen this year, which we very much welcome, but this provides a very narrow assessment window for when a child can get through the waiting list and not be considered an adult. To further complicate issues, for children who have been referred for general neurodiversity assessments, there is difficulty in ensuring a consistent pathway back to ADHD assessments and the waiting list. I would welcome a defined pathway so that children and professionals have certainty that they will receive the support they need.