Speech and Language Therapies 2025-12-01
2025-12-01
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
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Context
Currently, about 60,000 children are waiting for their first speech and language therapy appointment, some for over a year. This issue is due to poor collaboration between health and education services.
What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that specialist speech and language therapies are available to children with education, health and care plans? Currently about 60,000 children are waiting for their first speech and language therapy appointment, and some are waiting for over a year. As with a lot of SEND problems, this happens because health and education are not working that well together. Can the Minister tell me what we are doing to bring allied health professionals—including speech and language therapists—closer to schools, so that families do not fall through the cracks?
The Department is working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. The Minister welcomed the opportunity to discuss this issue with her hon. Friend last week and agreed about the need for partners to work together to fix the SEND system.
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Assessment & feedback
The Minister did not provide specific actions or timelines for bringing allied health professionals closer to schools.
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
Kirklees faces severe pressures in relation to high needs and SEND provision, including long waits for EHCP assessments and strained specialist support.
My constituency sits in Kirklees, which continues to face some of the most severe pressures in the country in relation to high needs and SEND provision, including long waits for EHCP assessments and strained specialist support. What additional resources will the Department provide to ensure that children with special educational needs and disabilities in areas such as my constituency receive timely and proper support?
In this financial year we have already put £1 billion into the high needs budget and £740 million into specialist places around the country. We are committed to helping schools to provide an inclusive service, and we will be setting out more plans in the schools White Paper.
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Assessment & feedback
The Minister did not specify what additional resources would be provided specifically for Kirklees or other areas facing high pressures.
Response accuracy