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orywireThe England interim report says recorded ADHD and autism diagnoses and referrals have risen, but it does not yet make recommendations. Here is what the latest GOV.UK update means for people waiting for assessment or support.
The government’s interim review into mental health conditions, ADHD and autism in England has been updated on GOV.UK, but it is not the final report and does not change NHS assessment routes. People waiting for ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), autism or mental health support should continue to use existing NHS, school and local pathways while the review continues.
The independent review was commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care to examine why demand for mental health, ADHD and autism support has risen, how people are being identified by services, and whether support is reaching people early enough.
It applies to England and covers children, young people and adults. The government has said Professor Peter Fonagy is chairing the review, supported by Professor Sir Simon Wessely and Professor Gillian Baird as vice-chairs.
The latest GOV.UK change, dated 10 June 2026, made the interim report available as accessible HTML. The report was first published on 31 March 2026 and an easy read version is also available.
The report separates several issues that are often mixed together: how common conditions are in the population, how many people are diagnosed or recorded by services, how many people seek help, and how much support people need in daily life.
For common mental health conditions, the review says evidence shows rising psychological distress, especially among younger people. It says adult common mental disorder prevalence in England has risen from about 15% to 16% in the early 1990s to about 23% by the mid-2020s.
For ADHD and autism, the review presents a more complex picture. It says recorded diagnoses, referrals, self-identification and service demand have increased substantially, while the best available population survey estimates appear more stable. The report warns against treating this as a simple story of either overdiagnosis or underdiagnosis.
A central point is that support in health, education and other systems can depend heavily on formal diagnosis. The review says that can increase pressure on assessment services and leave people waiting too long before they get practical help.
One of the clearest figures in the report concerns ADHD assessment demand. NHS England monitoring data cited by the review says the number of children and young people waiting for an ADHD assessment in mental health services rose from about 21,000 in April 2019 to about 270,000 in December 2025.
The report also says recorded ADHD diagnoses accelerated after 2020, particularly among adolescent and young adult females. It cites National Institute for Health and Care Excellence estimates that ADHD affects about 5% of children and young people and 2% to 3% of adults, while noting limits in the available data.
That does not mean the review has decided that recent diagnoses are wrong. The report says reliable national information is still lacking on severity, functional impact and outcomes among people being diagnosed. Without that, it says it is not yet possible to determine whether diagnostic thresholds have changed significantly over time.
The next phase is expected to look more closely at assessment quality, consistency between services, private and NHS pathways, and whether diagnosis is followed by evidence-based support or treatment.
For autism, the report says self-identification and recorded diagnoses have increased, while adult population estimates from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey remain around one in 100 across recent survey waves.
The most visible growth has been in education. The review says autism-related identified need accounted for about 3.1% of school-age children within the SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) system by 2025. It says growth has been especially rapid among girls and pupils without learning disability.
The report does not give one explanation for that trend. It says increased public recognition, changed help-seeking behaviour, access to support through diagnosis, and pressures in existing pathways may all be part of the picture.
The National Autistic Society responded by saying autistic people’s needs are not being met in education, employment or healthcare, and warned that the debate around autism diagnosis was becoming too polarised.
The interim report does not contain final conclusions or recommendations. GOV.UK says those will follow in the final report after further analysis and engagement.
Several questions remain open. The review wants to understand whether rising service demand reflects increased distress and need, improved recognition of people who were previously missed, backlogs in the system, changes in recording, diagnosis-linked access to support, or a combination of these.
It also plans to examine whether some groups are still being overlooked. The report highlights the need for more detailed work on gender, deprivation, ethnicity and people in settings such as the criminal justice system.
Professional and mental health organisations have broadly focused their responses on the need for earlier support. The Royal College of Psychiatrists welcomed the recognition of rising distress and called for stronger community support and early intervention. Centre for Mental Health said the interim findings confirm that rising distress is real, while leaving key questions about how government should respond.
The review does not replace existing advice on seeking help.
For adults whose ADHD symptoms are affecting work, studies or relationships, NHS guidance says to make an appointment with a GP (general practitioner). A GP may refer someone for an ADHD assessment with a specialist.
For children and young people, NHS guidance says families should talk to a teacher, SENCO (special educational needs co-ordinator) or GP if ADHD may be affecting the child. While waiting for referral or assessment, support at home and in school should continue.
For autism assessments, NHS guidance says adults should speak to a GP, while children may be referred through a GP, school or health visitor depending on local arrangements. A GP or education professional can also advise what support is available while waiting.
In England, NHS patient pages say Right to Choose may allow some people to choose which NHS service carries out an assessment, including some private clinics that provide services for the NHS. The details depend on the person’s situation and local referral arrangements.
At the latest check, the GOV.UK collection listed the interim report, the easy read version and the terms of reference. It did not list a final report.
The terms of reference say the review will provide a short report to Department of Health and Social Care ministers with conclusions and recommendations. Until that is published, the interim report should be read as a progress update rather than a change in policy.
This article should be updated when GOV.UK publishes the final report, when ministers respond, or when NHS England issues new assessment or support guidance.
