Speech Therapy (Hansard, 25 June 1991)

§ 2. Mr. Thurnham
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he has taken to estimate how many statemented children require speech therapy; and if he will make a statement.

§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science (Mr. Michael Fallon)
The identification of the special educational needs of children is the responsibility of local education authorities. Centrally held statistics on children's statements of special educational needs do not break them down by type of learning difficulty.

§ Mr. Thurnham
Does my hon. Friend accept the appeal court judgment in the Lancashire case that schools now have a duty to provide speech therapy and rather than its being left to the discretion of the local authority?

§ Mr. Fallon
Yes. I recently made it clear that if speech therapy is prescribed for educational reasons, local education authorities are under a duty to provide it; if health authorities which are asked to arrange it are unable to do so, the local education authorities must provide it.

§ Mr. Tom Clarke
Is the Minister not concerned about the report issued yesterday by Mencap, which said that arrangements for children with learning difficulties leave a lot to be desired, including those for speech therapy and the problems of young people when they leave special schools after the age of 19? Does the Minister have any proposals to deal with the views of Mencap and others?

§ Mr. Fallon
As the hon. Gentleman will know, local education authorities have a clear duty under the Education Act 1981 to ensure that the provision statemented for such children is made and that the necessary resources are provided. My Department is working with the Department of Health to secure better deployment of, among others, speech therapists.

§ Sir Bernard Braine
Surely my hon. Friend is aware that there is considerable concern in many constituencies—and certainly in mine—at the lack of information about the number of children who need to be statemented. Has he made any estimates of the number of speech therapists required to meet what many of us know to be a real need?

§ Mr. Fallon
My right hon. Friend is right. The number of speech therapists has nearly doubled, from 1,510 in 1979 to 2,810 in 1989, but we are working with the Department of Health to secure better deployment of speech therapists, to make greater use of assistant speech therapists, and to promote more even professional practice among local education authorities.