Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many speech and language therapists have worked for the NHS in (a) Salford, (b) Wigan and (c) the North West in each of the last five years.

The following table shows the number of full-time equivalent speech and language therapists working in National Health Service trusts and other core organisations in Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the NHS England North West region in each of the last five years:

Source: NHS England, NHS Workforce Statistics

Note: These staff will provide services in a range of settings including in education. However, therapists will also be directly employed by other providers, including schools, independent provision and third sector/ charitable organisations for which data is not held centrally.