, Cabinet Secretary for Health
and Social Care: The Welsh Government set up the Neurodivergence
Improvement Programme (NDIP) in 2022 to improve services and
support for neurodivergent individuals and their families. We
have extended the programme to March 2027, investing a further
£13.7m to improve people's outcomes.
The Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing refocused £5.6m of
NDIP funding in 2025-26 to eliminate three-year waiting times for
children's neurodevelopmental assessments across Wales by the end
of March. While we have yet to receive the end-of-year data,
health boards are on track to deliver this ambition and some will
have gone further, reducing waits to less than two years.
I have set out the priorities for the NDIP for 2026-27. As demand
for children's assessments continues to increase, health boards
will continue to focus on reducing waiting times. Health boards
will receive a share of £5.6m of NDIP funding to maintain the
national position of eliminating three-year waits for children's
neurodevelopmental assessments, while giving greater flexibility
to those health boards which are already sustaining waiting times
of less than two years.
All health boards will be required to submit delivery plans. They
will also be expected to work collaboratively, share learning and
good practice to support the development of more efficient and
consistent services for neurodivergent children and young people
and to reduce variation across Wales. We will be promoting the
use of AI Scribe tools to support assessments, wherever
appropriate, building on successful pilots in Cwm Taf Morgannwg
and Hywel Dda University Health Boards.
In parallel, NHS Performance and Improvement will develop
national waiting list validation standards and referral to
treatment guidance for neurodivergence pathways.
An adult ADHD task and finish group has been set up and is
developing options to improve services for adults who are waiting
for assessments. This includes work on shared care agreements.
