Government moves to put all ADHD and autism assessments under CQC regulation

The Department of Health and Social Care said on 9 October 2026 that it will work towards making every diagnostic assessment for ADHD and autism an activity regulated by the Care Quality Commission, in its response to the independent review chaired by Professor Peter Fonagy ¹. The review, published the same day, also called for direct-to-public advertising of NHS-funded assessments to be banned ¹.

What the review found

The review concluded that referrals and diagnoses for ADHD and autism have risen sharply while the underlying prevalence of the two conditions in the population looks broadly stable ¹. It cited data showing that more than 4% of children aged six to 17 have an autism diagnosis, against the 1-2% that studies suggest is the true level ². It stopped short of saying over-diagnosis is happening at scale, because some of the prevalence evidence is close to a decade old and some age groups are still under-diagnosed ²³.

On mental health, the review took the opposite view: it judged the rise in distress among young people to be real, with one in four 16 to 24-year-olds now thought to be affected, compared with one in six 30 years ago ³. Waits are long across the system. Of the 900,000 people waiting for an ADHD or autism assessment, 90% have waited more than three months, and a third of young people referred to mental health services wait over a year ³.

The review said waiting lists should be reassessed so that those with the greatest needs are seen first, rather than in order of referral, and that some people could be offered non-medical support instead ²³. Fonagy said diagnosis "remains essential and must be protected", but that it should no longer be the sole route to help ¹.

What it means for the market

The change bears directly on independent providers. Half of ADHD assessments and a third of autism assessments are carried out by organisations outside the NHS, such as charities and private companies, and these are not regulated in the same way as NHS providers ³. The planned regulation would apply whether the assessment is paid for by the NHS, funded privately or paid for by the patient ¹. Health Secretary Yvette Cooper linked the move to ensuring that "the NHS is not being overcharged by independent or private providers" ¹.

Three further measures affect how these services are bought and sold:

• NHS England will consult on a national set of prices for NHS-funded ADHD and autism services, covering assessment, post-diagnostic support and follow-up, with finalised payment arrangements intended from April 2027 ¹.

• Integrated care boards will be required to improve their oversight of the assessment services they commission ¹.

• The Health Secretary will write to the Advertising Standards Authority about adverts for ADHD and autism services ¹.

NICE has also been asked to consider urgently what the report means for its guidance on ADHD and autism ¹. For providers that have grown on NHS referrals, a common tariff and CQC registration would mean tighter price setting and new compliance costs, though the government has not yet published the detail or a timetable for the regulatory change ¹.

Caveats

The government has committed to explore and work towards these measures rather than set them in law, and much of its wider response will come in a cross-government mental health strategy ¹. The strategy is expected before the end of the year, and that the review wants action within 12 to 24 months ²³. The review's own estimate of true autism prevalence relies on surveys that have not been repeated for nine years ³.