Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to speech and language therapy for children.

The ‘SEND review: right support, right place, right time’ green paper sets out proposals to commission analysis to ensure that the health needs of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are supported through effective workforce planning. We propose to work with Health Education England, NHS England and the Department for Education to understand the demand for support for children and young people with SEND from the therapy and diagnostic workforce.

To increase the supply of more speech and language therapists to the National Health Service, since September 2020 all eligible allied health profession can apply for a non-repayable training grant of a minimum of £5,000 per academic year, with further financial support available for childcare, accommodation and travel costs.