Autism data for June 2026, published 13 August 2026
Autism assessment waiting times
Waiting times for autism assessment in England from NHS England’s autism statistics for June 2026 (published 13 August 2026).
At the end of June 2026, 294,792 people in England had an open suspected autism referral and 256,017 of them had been waiting at least 13 weeks. Of those aged under 18, 143,251 of 159,211 had waited 13 weeks or more; for those aged 18 and over the figure was 112,867 of 135,826. The NICE guideline recommends that an autism assessment starts within 3 months (13 weeks) of referral. 3,149 people received a diagnosis in the month.
| Month | Open referrals | Waiting 13+ weeks | % 13+ weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 2026 | 294,792 | 256,017 | 86.8% |
| May 2026 | 310,794 | 271,762 | 87.4% |
| April 2026 | 293,084 | 254,699 | 86.9% |
By integrated care board (ICB)
Figures depend on which providers submit data, so some ICB totals are incomplete.
| ICB | Open referrals | 13+ weeks | Median days to first contact | New referrals | Towns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board | 2,985 | 86.4% | 60 | 170 | Bath |
| NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board | 5,385 | 87.9% | 187 | 305 | Birmingham |
| NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board | 8,380 | 89.6% | 228 | 410 | Wolverhampton, Dudley |
| NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board | 2,170 | 78.8% | 136 | 205 | |
| NHS Central East Integrated Care Board | 11,400 | 84.8% | 95 | 800 | |
| NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board | 14,160 | 84.9% | 226 | 910 | Liverpool, St Helens, Wirral |
| NHS Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board | 5,615 | 87.6% | 265 | 330 | Truro, Falmouth, Penzance, Newquay |
| NHS Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board | 16,510 | 90.6% | 442 | 1,040 | Coventry, Warwick, Leamington Spa, Nuneaton |
| NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board | 5,790 | 84.3% | 278 | 330 | Derby, Chesterfield |
| NHS Devon Integrated Care Board | 12,275 | 91.4% | 775 | 425 | Exeter, Plymouth, Torquay, Barnstaple, Tiverton |
| NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board | 1,610 | 81.1% | 88 | 165 | Dorchester, Bournemouth, Poole, Weymouth |
| NHS Essex Integrated Care Board | 1,460 | 58.6% | 81 | 350 | |
| NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board | 4,300 | 91.9% | 758 | 175 | |
| NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board | 24,915 | 90.4% | 746 | 1,040 | Manchester, Salford, Stockport, Bolton |
| NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board | 8,640 | 84.3% | 4 | 620 | Winchester, Southampton, Portsmouth, Basingstoke |
| NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care Board | 760 | 59.2% | 97 | 140 | |
| NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board | 11,005 | 84.7% | 370 | 850 | York, Harrogate, Scarborough |
| NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board | 5,970 | 88.9% | 313 | 280 | Canterbury, Maidstone, Ashford, Dartford |
| NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board | 3,605 | 79.5% | 74 | 310 | Preston, Blackburn, Burnley |
| NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board | 2,885 | 80.9% | 141 | 245 | Leicester, Loughborough |
| NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board | 3,075 | 84.2% | 551 | 185 | |
| NHS Norfolk and Suffolk Integrated Care Board | 6,305 | 86.4% | 103 | 360 | |
| NHS North East London Integrated Care Board | 3,825 | 79.2% | 144 | 330 | Hackney |
| NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board | 27,955 | 89.4% | 241 | 1,255 | Newcastle upon Tyne, Sunderland, Gateshead |
| NHS Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board | 7,160 | 93.2% | 533 | 205 | |
| NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board | 4,050 | 89.5% | 706 | 180 | Nottingham, Mansfield |
| NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Board | 1,820 | 70.6% | 47 | 225 | |
| NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board | 7,325 | 90.7% | 1,130 | 300 | Taunton, Yeovil, Bridgwater |
| NHS South East London Integrated Care Board | 2,690 | 77.0% | 62 | 270 | Greenwich |
| NHS South West London Integrated Care Board | 6,305 | 84.0% | 91 | 520 | Croydon |
| NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board | 7,955 | 86.0% | 440 | 415 | Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster |
| NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board | 10,590 | 87.7% | 604 | 670 | |
| NHS Surrey and Sussex Integrated Care Board | 18,375 | 87.8% | 99 | 1,030 | Guildford, Woking, Epsom, Brighton, Worthing, Crawley |
| NHS Thames Valley Integrated Care Board | 11,340 | 87.7% | 727 | 640 | Oxford, Banbury, Bicester, Reading, Slough, Maidenhead |
| NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board | 18,535 | 84.7% | 143 | 1,115 | Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield |
| NHS West and North London Integrated Care Board | 6,845 | 77.1% | 56 | 690 | Westminster, Camden |
| Unknown | 815 | 92.6% | 316 | 25 |
Frequently asked questions
How long is the wait for an autism assessment?
In June 2026, 86.8% of the 294,792 people with an open suspected autism referral in England had waited 13 weeks or more. The median wait to first appointment for people seen in the quarter was 182 days.
What is the recommended wait for autism assessment?
NICE guidance says assessment should start within 3 months (13 weeks) of referral.
Where does this data come from?
NHS England autism statistics, based on the Mental Health Services Data Set and the Community Services Data Set, published under the Open Government Licence.