The National Autistic Taskforce has decided the following nine priorities for the next five years:
- Monitor and influence legislative developments, including the Mental Health Rights Bill in England, reform of the Adults with Incapacity Act in Scotland and any proposed changes to Human Rights law.
- Complete and disseminate EQUALS, a major research project developed in collaboration with the Universities of Sussex, Edinburgh and Manchester. The EQUALS project will trial ways of implementing the NAT Guide in supported living and residential social care settings.
- Influence NHS England as it updates ‘Building the right support’, the national plan for reducing the number of autistic people and people with a learning disability in mental health inpatient settings and developing community alternatives.
- Influence the content and push for publication of an updated Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice.
- Maintain and extend our participation in policy work via groups and committees, including the National Mental Capacity Forum, the British Association of Social Workers’ (BASW) Homes Not Hospitals Group, the Bringing People Home from Hospital Network and the European Council of Autistic People (EUCAP).
- Identify and secure new collaborative partnerships with university researchers to build the evidence base related to action giving autistic adults a stronger voice in the decisions and directions of our own lives.
- Further develop our Founder’s Award programme to support more innovative, autistic-led projects.
- Increase our core team of autistic individuals with the capacity and skills to do project work and organisational administration.
- Administer the organisation in a transparent, efficient and autistic affirmative manner. Explore strategic partnerships and secure new funding streams.