Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with Health Education England to ensure that the number of speech and language therapy student commissions for 2016-17 is sufficient to meet demand.

Health Education England (HEE) has been established to ensure the National Health Service has access to the right numbers of staff, at the right time and with the right skills. In doing so, HEE works with key external stakeholders to develop its National Workforce Plan for England which sets out the number of training places it will commission in the year ahead. HEE will formally publish the National Workforce Plan for 2016-17 in January 2016.

The National Workforce Plan for England 2015-16 outlines that commissions for Speech and Language Therapists has increased since 2014-15 by 3.7%.

Ministers hold regular discussions with HEE on a broad range of workforce supply issues. The Government issues an annual Mandate to HEE setting its priorities for the coming year. HEE’s performance against the Mandate deliverables are monitored through regular accountability meetings.