The Government releases statistics about autism assessment waiting lists every quarter, and you can access them here.

The latest figures came out in June, and cover the period from October 2021 to March 2023. Figures for the North East come under the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board, which is the NHS body that funds trusts and organisations in the region to carry out assessments.

They are for children and adults, but don't include figures from community paediatric services.

We have pulled out some of the key statistics for each area here:

Total number of open referrals on the waiting list

Area	Number of people on the waiting list: October 2021	Number of people on the waiting list: March 2022	Number of people on the waiting list: March 2023
Northumberland	500	840	1445
South Tyneside	625	850	1220
Sunderland	625	905	1460
Newcastle/Gateshead	1150	1720	2710
Tees Valley	2720	3525	5030
County Durham	2095	3440	3820
North Tyneside	545	750	1080

Number of new referrals in the month

Area	New referrals a month: October 2021	New referrals a month: March 2022	New referrals a month: March 2023
Northumberland	55	80	170
South Tyneside	35	45	80
Sunderland	50	65	120
Newcastle/Gateshead	100	145	185
Tees Valley	235	365	510
County Durham	195	240	610
North Tyneside	40	70	70

Proportion of people seen within the 13-week target

Area	Proportion seen within 13 weeks: October 2021	Proportion seen within 13 weeks: March 2022	Proportion seen within 13 weeks:  March 2023
Northumberland	45%	41%	29%
South Tyneside	0	0	0
Sunderland	6%	5%	0
Newcastle/Gateshead	9%	8%	0
Tees Valley	36%	29%	12%
County Durham	24%	33%	17%
North Tyneside	11%	9%	6%