(UK) Bolton: "Number of [young] adults with autism set to increase by nearly 10%"

May 8, 2025, Bolton News: Bolton Council on increase in autism diagnosis for 2030

NW England

The number of adults in Bolton diagnosed with autism is set to increase by nearly 10 per cent with Town Hall chiefs putting in plans now to support those with the condition.

The issue was discussed by councillors at the Health Overview and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee, with the stats presented by the Learning Disability & Autism Partnership Group.

The borough currently supports a total of 1682 people aged 18-64 with autism. The number of Bolton residents aged 18-24 with an autism diagnosis is predicted to rise nine per cent by 2030.

Figures also showed that Bolton has approximately 4,000 adult residents with a learning disability, with over 900 of these having a moderate or severe learning disability.

There is also a predicted 10.8 per cent increase in the number of people aged 18-24 with moderate and severe learning disabilities by 2030.

 Karen Kenyon, Assistant Director Adult Social Care Operations & Integration said: “We’re taking into consideration additional planning now so that we are able to better support those people coming through into services or coming into the voluntary sector, however they need these needs to be met.

 “In Bolton, we want to reduce differences in health, as discussed in previous health and scrutiny meetings. We want to see an increase in the number of people receiving a quality health check aged 14 and above.

“When I say quality, I mean beyond just a tick box exercise. It’s not just about what the GP can offer in primary care, but also across other services as well such as our integrated health and social care team to sure that we’re carrying out these quality checks across the borough.”

The report also noted that national targets of 75 per cent on the Learning Disability register across the borough were on target, with an additional 85 per cent of health action plans completed from age 14 years onwards.

Yearly numbers showed an increase in the number of people on disability register by aged 14 throughout the borough. This rose from 1524 people in 2021, 1561 in 2022 and up to 1694 in 2023.

Ms Kenyon added that more people across the borough were being identified as having a learning disability at a younger age, enabling them to access services at earlier opportunities.

One of the key aspects of the report was to reduce the number of people in Bolton with a Learning Disability or Autism using receiving care in an inpatient Mental Health bed.

Despite targets of seven people by March of this year, the current number stands at around 10 people overall, with six of these in inpatient beds and two being supported for discharge on June 25th.

A local action plan to distribute services across the borough is set to begin in May 2025.

Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Karen Hon said: “Recently my son was diagnosed aged 21 as being autistic, I think it’s good for everyone in the room to know that he got the diagnosis and was being given advice he was also told that he has hit the ‘postcode lottery’ for adults with autism. . . .