Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Speech and Language Therapy

Monday 2 March 2026 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Local authorities are receiving 1.8 billion over three years to support children with special educational needs and disabilities in speech and language therapy.
  • Best Start hubs are receiving 200 million to rebuild community support for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
  • Government is providing dedicated support for speech and language therapists, educational psychologists, and occupational therapists to be available in every primary and secondary school.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Elsie Blundell Lab Heywood and Middleton North
Children & Families
Context

Local authorities are in financial difficulty, impacting the provision of speech and language therapy for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Question

I am concerned about the steps being taken with Cabinet colleagues to ensure local authorities can deliver effective speech and language therapy for children with SEND, despite their financial difficulties. What steps are being taken?

Answer from Georgia Gould

I have talked to so many families who have had to watch their children fall further behind without the speech and language support they need. Alongside measures to address local authority deficits, we are providing £1.8 billion over the next three years for local areas to develop a new “experts at hand” offer, providing mainstream education settings with access to support from services including speech and language therapy.

Answered
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Q2 Elsie Blundell Lab Heywood and Middleton North
Children & Families
Context

The SEND system is not working, leading to children not receiving necessary speech and language therapy. The previous government's record is criticised.

Question

The SEND system is not working for children, families or local councils, and it has not been for some time. Despite the record of the Conservatives, we cannot allow children in need of speech and language therapy to lose out. Will the Minister assure me that when it comes to speech and language therapy, the new “experts at hand” service will be utilised effectively, so that each local authority will be able to provide all children with the support they need?

Answer from Georgia Gould

I am happy to reassure my hon. Friend and I thank her for her advocacy on this important issue. We are rebuilding support across the community. Best Start hubs in every community will be supported by £200 million for children with special educational needs and disabilities, and we are investing £40 million to train up new specialist speech and language staff and educational psychologists to ensure that this support is available in every community.

Answered
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Q3 Tim Farron Lib Dem Westmorland and Lonsdale
Education Children & Families Local Government
Context

Westmorland and Furness council, which is not in financial difficulty, has faced a 31% budget cut over three years by the government.

Question

On the subject of the provision of speech and language therapy for students with special educational needs, Westmorland and Furness council, in my area, was not one of the councils in financial difficulty—until last month, when the Government decided, for the crime of it being the most rural district in the country, to cut 31% of its budget over three years. What confidence can children with special educational needs and their parents in my community have that they are not going to be hit massively by these cuts, and what can the Minister do to put the cuts right?

Answer from Georgia Gould

We are providing dedicated support for speech and language therapists, educational psychologists and occupational therapists so that they are available to every primary and secondary school. In an average secondary school in the hon. Gentleman's constituency, we expect that that will amount to about 160 days of support a year.

Partly answered

Not addressed: specific measures to address the 31% budget cut

How: Changing Subject To Overall Support Provided

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