§ Mr. Geoffrey Lloydasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the current position regarding the supply of speech therapists in the services under his control; how many appointments at the latest convenient date are unfilled; and what steps he proposes to take to make up the deficiency.
§ Mr. Denis HowellOn 31st December, 1968, 668 full and part-time speech therapists, the equivalent of 470 full-time appointments were employed by local education authorities in England and Wales who at the same time reported 165 vacancies.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science considers there is a need to inquire into the work of speech therapists, the numbers required and how they should best be trained and deployed and has jointly with his right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Social Services, Scotland and Wales appointed a Committee under the Chairmanship of Professor Randolph Quirk of London University to look into these matters. The Committee held its first meeting on Tuesday, 15th July, 1969.