Regulatory landscape

Care Inspectorate: Regulates social care services which often interface with autism diagnostic and support services, providing inspection and scrutiny of care standards. (Search the register || Raise a concern)

General Medical Council (GMC): Regulates psychiatrists and medical doctors involved in diagnosing ASD, overseeing their professional registration, education, and fitness to practice. (Search the register || Raise a concern)

Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC): Regulates individual healthcare professionals who conduct autism assessments, such as clinical psychologists, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, ensuring they are registered, meet professional standards, and adhere to codes of conduct. (Search the register || Raise a concern)

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS): Regulates and inspects all independent healthcare providers registered in Scotland, covering private autism diagnostic clinics. This ensures such services operate according to national legal requirements, clinical governance standards, and best practices, providing safety and confidence to people seeking diagnoses outside the NHS. HIS’s oversight complements professional regulation by bodies such as HCPC and GMC. HIS carries out inspections, thematic reviews, and provides improvement recommendations. (Search the register || Raise a concern)

Information Commissioner's Office (ICO): An independent supervisory authority responsible for enforcing the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 across the whole UK, including Scotland. The ICO oversees compliance with data protection laws, investigates breaches, considers complaints, and where necessary issues enforcement actions. You have the right under GDPR to access your personal data (through Subject Access Requests), request correction, and seek redress for data breaches. Organisations who collect, process and store your personal data are accountable for secure, fair, and lawful handling of your personal and sensitive health information. (Make a Subject Access Request (SAR) || Raise a concern)

NHS Scotland: oversees its own autism assessment services and the services commissioned by the NHS to external diagnostic services to ensure these providers meet the same standards and keep oversight through contracts and performance monitoring. (Raise a concern)

Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC): Regulates nurses and midwives across the UK, including Scotland. While the NMC does not specifically regulate autism assessments, nurses involved in ASD diagnosis or support must be registered with the NMC and adhere to its professional standards for competence, care, and ethics. (Search the register || Raise a concern)

Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR): Regulates third-sector autism support and charities ensuring legal compliance and management of public funds. (Raise a concern)

Scottish Government: Set policy, funding, and strategic oversight of neurodevelopmental and autism services.

Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO): Provides independent investigation for complaints about public-sector autism diagnostic and support services (NHS and local authority). The SPSO is the final stage for complaints about public service organisations in Scotland and you must exhaust the organisation’s own complaints procedure first, before you can refer your complaint to the SPSO for independent review. (Make a complaint)

Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC): Regulates care workers and support workers who - whilst they do not diagnose autism - play a vital role in delivering day-to-day post-diagnosis support to autistic people. The SSSC oversees their registration, sets professional standards, and requires ongoing training and development to ensure they have the skills needed to provide effective support, including autism awareness and tailored care. (Search the register || Raise a concern)