RECENTLY the Welsh Conservatives tabled a motion in the National Assembly calling on the Welsh Government to introduce an Autism Bill for Wales.

I am very disappointed, therefore, that this Welsh Conservative campaign did not succeed.

This is in spite of the fact that we had cross-party support for the motion. In a debate in the National Assembly, Welsh Conservative Members called on the Welsh Government to give more support for people in Wales living with autism.

During the debate, Assembly Members delivered impassioned arguments on why ministers should bring forward specific autism legislation.

Such legislation already exists in England and Northern Ireland.

They cited the fact that under current Welsh Government legislation, people with autism lack a legal identity which has led to people not receiving adequate professional, effective support from public services, thereby placing them at a disadvantage to the rest of society.

Without legislation, the Welsh Government’s autism strategy is a voluntary wish list. It is therefore vital that Wales’ autism community enjoys the same statutory support as their English and Northern Irish counterparts.

The First Minister Carwyn Jones has previously gone on record as saying he would “actively consider” such a bill and even pointed to 2016 as a date when such a legislation might be brought forward.

But our bill was subsequently voted down by Labour, including its cabinet secretaries for health and public health.

Whilst the vote did not go the way we wanted we will continue this hugely important campaign for people and their families right across Wales.

There are an estimated 34,000 autistic people in Wales, but the condition affects a community of around 136,000, if we include families and carers.

It cannot be right that the needs of such a significant portion of the population go unmet and it’s high time that Welsh Labour acknowledged this.

We intend to continue to drive this bill forward, so that Wales can deliver the best support possible to Autism sufferers and their families and carers.

Anyone wishing to support our campaign can sign our online petition which can be found on www.change.org