Norfolk Autism Partnership

Meeting summary

Norfolk Autism Partnership Board Meeting Summary
Date of meeting: 12 January 2022
Held online via Microsoft Teams

Purpose of the meeting
The meeting brought together members of the Norfolk All Age Autism Partnership Board, including co-chairs, professionals, autistic adults, carers, and representatives from various organisations. Its aim was to discuss progress on autism-related work in Norfolk, share updates from different working groups, review membership, and plan next steps for the partnership. The meeting also provided opportunities to reflect on challenges and set priorities for the year ahead.

Main updates and discussions

Working Group Reports
Several working groups provided updates on their recent activities and future plans.

The Diagnosis Working Group has been involved in creating clear and up-to-date autism diagnostic pathways on several websites, including the Partnership Website, Knowledge Anglia, and Norfolk Community Health and Care. They looked at how waiting rooms can be made more accessible and considered what information should be in appointment letters for autistic people. They have also been monitoring waiting times for autism diagnosis and contributed to understanding demand avoidance profiles. A key priority for this group over the next year is to increase involvement of autistic people and parent/carers in the group, aiming to have at least five members. Members were encouraged to help recruit new members.

The Engagement Working Group reported growth in their independent website, which has had over 6,700 unique visitors since January 2021. They have fixed previous issues with newsletter sign-ups and added 62 new mailing list members since the last report. The group organised their second online Autism Norfolk Forum (ANF) on 11 January 2022, focusing on gathering public feedback. Following feedback from Forum attendees, plans were made to hold a more formal post-Forum meeting to discuss the feedback. The next Forum was planned to focus on topics such as Personal Independent Payment (PIP), Disability Living Allowance (DLA), welfare rights, and related issues.

The Workforce Development Working Group continues to update both eLearning and in-person training based on feedback. The University of East Anglia (UEA) is reviewing these changes. The pandemic has made training delivery difficult, but progress is ongoing. Five organisations have already been trained in the Understanding Autism course to run it internally for their staff, and two more are planning to do so next year. The group also intends to develop a quiz to assess learning from the training.

The Employment Working Group is still in the early stages. They report positive progress and plan to gather information and resources about employment for autistic people in one place. They aim to identify a large employer to partner with as an “Autism Champion” to promote good employment practices.

Overview of the Year
Tom Bassett provided a summary of the partnership’s work during 2021. This included creating new working groups focused on vision, documents, and employment; restarting the Autism Norfolk Forums; launching a Library Champions scheme; and increasing membership and projects across the partnership. Despite progress, challenges remain, including limited funding from health services and restrictions from Norfolk County Council on social media use. Funding of around £90,000 has been allocated from Norfolk County Council for the next two years to support partnership activities. A group of volunteers will be put together to discuss how this funding can best be used and will report back at the next meeting.

Partnership Membership and Leadership
Data about attendance at Board and working group meetings over the past year was reviewed. Discussions highlighted gaps in membership and how these might be filled. Adrian Grant and Trevor Key put themselves forward as co-chairs of the Board and were elected unopposed. Members were invited to suggest potential new members to join the Board to help strengthen representation and expertise.

Other Business
Amanda Dunn announced she would soon be leaving the Partnership Board due to starting a new role. The Board expressed sincere thanks for her dedicated service. The next Board meeting will include a presentation on the National Autism Strategy, scheduled for 14 April 2022. Members were asked to send any articles or links they would like to be included in the next partnership newsletter by 28 February 2022. Finally, a wellbeing check with members was conducted via an email survey.

Key decisions and agreements
Minutes of the previous meeting on 13 October 2021 were agreed as a true record.
Adrian Grant and Trevor Key were elected unopposed as the new co-chairs of the Norfolk Autism Partnership Board.
A formal post-Forum meeting will be set up to review and share feedback from Autism Norfolk Forum attendees.
The next Autism Norfolk Forum will focus on benefits and welfare rights including Personal Independent Payment and Disability Living Allowance.
A volunteering group will be formed to advise on using the allocated funding of £90,000 over two years.

Actions and next steps
All members are encouraged to help recruit autistic people and parent/carers to join the Diagnosis Working Group.
Lee Gibbons and Tom Bassett will explore new ways to acknowledge and share feedback from Autism Norfolk Forums.
Members are invited to send suggestions for Board membership to help fill gaps in expertise and representation.
A group of volunteers will come together to discuss how to allocate and use the new funding, reporting back at the next Board meeting.
Members should send items for the next Partnership newsletter by 28 February 2022.
The next Board meeting will be held on 14 April 2022 and will include a presentation on the National Autism Strategy.

Summary
This meeting of the Norfolk Autism Partnership Board focused on reviewing progress across several working groups, planning future activities, and strengthening the partnership’s membership and leadership. Work continues to make autism diagnosis more accessible, improve engagement and training, and promote employment opportunities. Funding has been secured to help support future work, and a group of volunteers will advise on its best use. The Board welcomed newly elected co-chairs and made arrangements to gather and respond to feedback from the public through forums. Looking ahead, the Board will continue to address gaps in membership and provide updates on national autism strategies. The meeting fostered a collaborative approach with a focus on inclusion, communication, and practical support for autistic people and their families in Norfolk.