Report of the independent ADHD Taskforce. Part 2 (NHS England, 6 November 2025)

Summary

The independent ADHD Taskforce was commissioned by NHS England in 2024, as part of a series of measures to address concerns about timely access to diagnosis and support, and the impact of unsupported ADHD on individuals, services and the wider economy.

Content

This brief summary of the Part 2 recommendations needs to be read with Part 1 of the ADHD Taskforce report.

1. Transformation for ADHD requires systemic changes at national, regional and local level. This includes government departments, health, education, employment and the criminal justice system. Co-design and co-production of transformation should include people with ADHD and their families/carers.
2. A combination of (a) upstream, preventative and early support strategies, (b) cross-sector changes and (c) downstream changes to ADHD service commissioning and provision is required.
3. Early years support needs to encompass family outreach and evidence-based parenting interventions appropriate for ADHD/neurodivergence.
4. School interventions must be expanded to include ADHD/neurodivergence to improve ADHD outcomes delivered via mental health support teams (MHSTs) and Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programmes. School and education policies and practice need to enable children with ADHD to thrive. Schools require direct links with ADHD health service providers.
5. Adolescents and young adults (ages 11–24 years) have been shown to be an especially high-risk group. Needs-led, cross-sector integrated youth services for this age group have been effective in other countries.
6. Expand existing workforce skills in health, education, relevant sectors of employment and the criminal justice system to better recognise and support people with ADHD based on their needs without waiting for a diagnosis.
7. Introduce more transparent and clear regulation of ADHD service providers as well as auditable quality control for commissioners. There is an urgent need for NHS England/DHSC to collaborate with NICE to explicitly define what is meant by an appropriately ADHD qualified healthcare professional. Ensure access to clinical services is equitable, including for marginalised sectors of the population and those in the criminal justice system. ADHD care should be seamless.
8. Urgently reduce ADHD wait times and require the same standards for these wait times as those for physical health given the costs and risks of ADHD as well as for reasons of equity. Different models of care need to be introduced urgently. The implementation of the 10 Year Health Plan for England needs to ensure ADHD is a priority given its costs, impacts and historical neglect despite the availability of effective treatments. This includes digitisation and embedding ADHD assessment and care within neighbourhood health centres with expanded roles for practitioners within primary care.