Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will make an estimate of the number of deaf children in England who could potentially benefit from auditory verbal therapy; and if his Department will make an assessment of the (a) accessibility of that therapy to the families of deaf children, (b) educational outcomes for deaf children who have received at least two years of that therapy and (c) potential merits for educational outcomes in England of embedding 300 trained practitioners in that therapy, as recommended by Auditory Verbal UK.

The department does not hold data on the number of deaf children in England who could potentially benefit from Auditory Verbal therapy.

In the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision Green Paper, the Department of Health and Social Care committed to work with Health Education England, NHS England and the Department for Education to build on existing evidence and build a clearer picture of demand for support for children and young people with SEND from the therapy and diagnostic workforce. This will allow workforce planning to focus on the areas of the health workforce that are a priority for meeting the needs of children and young people with SEND.