Special Educational Needs: Speech and Language Disorders

(asked on 9th February 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the (a) Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and (b) Secretary of State for Justice on the recommendation that Government should be levelling up on spending on speech and language therapy around the country as set out in the Children’s Commissioner’s report, Still not safe: The public health response to youth violence, published in February 2021.


Answered by
Vicky Ford Portrait
Vicky Ford
This question was answered on 22nd February 2021

Spending on speech and language therapy is determined at a local level.

We do not prescribe in detail how local authorities should allocate their high needs funding, but local authorities and schools have statutory duties under the Children and Families Act 2014 to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those who require speech and language therapies.

The department remains committed to continuous improvement. The cross-government SEND Review was announced in September 2019 and is looking at ways to make sure the SEND system is consistent, high quality, and integrated across education, health, and care. It is also considering measures to make sure that money is being spent fairly, efficiently, and effectively, and that the support available to children and young people is sustainable in the future.

The SEND Review is looking at ways to support mainstream settings to identify and get support to children and young people more quickly, through making best use of precious expertise such as speech and language therapists and educational psychologists. These issues are long-standing and complex, but the government is determined to deliver real, lasting change. We intend to publish the SEND Review in spring 2021.

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