SPEECH THERAPISTS (Hansard, 20 November 1974)

§ BARONESS MASHAM OF ILTON
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

§ LORD WELLS-PESTELL
My Lords, as the noble Baroness will appreciate, speech therapists are among eight professions whose pay structure, levels of remuneration and related conditions of service are currently being considered by a Committee of Inquiry under the chairmanship of the noble Earl, Lord Halsbury. The Committee to which I have just referred is looking at the grading structure of the profession to which the noble Baroness refers in her Question.

§ BARONESS MASHAM OF ILTON
My Lords, while thanking the Minister for his reply, which is not very encouraging because these people have been waiting a long time, may I ask him whether he appreciates that the reorganisation of the National Health Service has been the disorganisation of the speech therapy service, and does he know that there is an appalling drop-out of speech therapists? Only last year, out of 27 who graduated from one school 3 are now working. Does the noble Lord appreciate that this is due, too, to the very frustrations which they have? And can he hold out any hope that conditions in hospitals and clinics will get better?

§ LORD WELLS-PESTELL
My Lords, I think the noble Baroness is quite justified in feeling as she does about this matter, because so does the Department; but I must point out that there are other professional organisations whose structure and pay and conditions have to be considered alongside those of the speech 1021 therapists. I can understand their impatience, but over the last four years there have been financial difficulties—there have been pay pauses and counter-inflation situations—and it is difficult for the Committee of Inquiry to take one profession out and disregard the other seven. The Committee is dealing with the whole lot, and we are hoping that before the end of the year the Committee will be able to report on them.

§ LORD HARVEY OF PRESTBURY
My Lords, will the noble Lord say how long this Committee has been looking into this matter, and when they expect to come to a conclusion?

§ LORD WELLS-PESTELL
My Lords, in answer to the first part of the noble Lord's question I cannot be precise.

§ LORD HARVEY OF PRESTBURY
Why not?

§ LORD WELLS-PESTELL
Because I just do not know. It is as simple as that. As to the second part of the question, in reply to the noble Baroness I said that it is hoped that a decision will be made by the end of this year.

§ LORD MAYBRAY-KING
My Lords, is the noble Lord aware that those of us who know of the excellent work of speech therapists over the last 25 years are grateful to my noble friend Lady Masham for raising this question; and may we ask the noble Lord whether he would make our representations known to Lord Halsbury and his Committee?

§ LORD WELLS-PESTELL
My Lords, we are aware of the situation. Perhaps I ought to point out that the current salary scales of speech therapists were increased, by agreement, by from £282 to £513 and back-dated to May 23 last, and employing authorities were notified of the new rates on October 2 last. We are not letting this matter rest. We are trying to deal with it as quickly as possible.

§ BARONESS SUMMERSKILL
My Lords, does my noble friend think there is any relationship between the fact that the speech therapists appear to be the Cinderellas of the professions supplementary to medicine and the fact that they have not a State register?

§ LORD WELLS-PESTELL
My Lords, I should not like to express an opinion on that except to say, having had some experience myself in the field of professional social work, that I think a good many of these quasi-medical social work groups are at some sort of disadvantage, and I hope that the Committee of Inquiry will be able to redress a good many of the anxieties which are felt in the House to-day.

§ BARONESS MASHAM OF ILTON
My Lords, may I ask the noble Lord whether he has in his Department a speech therapist to advise on these matters?

§ LORD WELLS-PESTELL
My Lords, I do not know whether we have a speech therapist, but I am perfectly satisfied from my inquiries and from my dealings with the Department in all fields of social service that we have some really competent people to advise us in every field.

§ LORD AMULREE
My Lords, in view of what was recommended in the Quirk Report could the noble Lord tell me whether a good deal of research in speech therapy and its improvement is going on now? Further, does he know anything about the Speech Therapy Trust, which was a trust set up to encourage research into speech therapy?

§ LORD WELLS-PESTELL
My Lords, off the cuff, I cannot give the noble Lord an answer to either of those supplementary questions, but perhaps he will allow me to look into them—certainly the latter, because I am not aware of that trust—and to write to him letting him have what information we have.

§ LORD ABERDARE
My Lords, is the noble Lord aware that this is a very small but very important profession and that, having had the Quirk Report in 1972, they are very disillusioned that seemingly there has been a very long delay in meeting its recommendations? Can the noble Lord say whether it is intended to appoint an Area Health Authority level organiser, and has this been referred to the Whitley Council as well as the Halsbury Committee?

§ LORD WELLS-PESTELL
My Lords, I am sorry that the noble Lord—I nearly said "my noble friend", because I regard him as being such—raised the first part 1023 of his question because I did not want to remind him that, as he knows, some of the delay has in no uncertain manner been due to the last Government. In reply to the second part of his question, a notice has gone out to the appropriate authorities about the appointment of area speech therapists. There are already, I believe, two grades of senior speech therapist, and a letter has been sent out about the appointment of area speech therapists. But we are waiting upon the report of the Committee of Inquiry with regard to pay and conditions.

§ LORD PLATT
My Lords, would the noble Lord please clarify something which I did not hear properly? I thought he said that the rate had gone up from £280 to £500 or so. Is that the salary per month or per year?

§ LORD WELLS-PESTELL
My Lords, I may be wrong, but I think I made it clear that it was increase in salary.

§ LORD PLATT
An increase from what to what?

§ LORD WELLS-PESTELL
My Lords, I cannot give the noble Lord the maximum or minimum salaries of speech therapists.

BARONESS D'ARCY DE KNAYTH
My Lords, does the Minister realise that much of the disillusionment among speech therapists is caused by the fact that as yet there are no area speech therapists? Further, would he agree that it is vital to act rapidly in a matter which would go a long way towards achieving the much-needed career structure which is so necessary to attract recruits and to cut the drop-out rate?

§ LORD WELLS-PESTELL
My Lords, as I pointed out a moment or two ago, my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Social Services asked Area Health Authorities in April of this year to appoint area speech therapists as soon as was practicable. I realise that it is extremely difficult to do this unless one ', has a structure and the pay scales that go with such a structure.

§ THE EARL OF ONSLOW
My Lords, have the Government any views on the application of the social contract to this matter and, if so, would they convey them to the Halsbury Committee?

§ LORD SHEPHERD
My Lords, the noble Earl gives me the opportunity to intervene. I suggest that this question is rather wide of the Question on the Order Paper. If I may, I should like to congratulate the noble Baroness on having stimulated considerable interest in this matter. I hope that she will feel satisfied with the way in which my noble friend has answered. An opportunity will be provided for the matter to be further examined if that should be her wish or that of the House.