To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 29 June (WA 3), why the decision was taken not to proceed with the study by Professor Gillian Baird and her colleagues announced on 8 May 2008 by Mr Ivan Lewis in a press notice and on the No 10 website but instead a different set of researchers was chosen. [HL4758]

The decision to undertake transition research for young people with autism with the University of York and not through the services of Professor Baird, was taken after detailed consideration of the remit of the research and strict government procurement requirements.

This is no reflection on Professor Baird or her team and we hope that she will continue to work with the department on future projects. We value her expertise and the contribution she has made so far to our understanding of autism and autism services.