§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many students are currently undergoing training as speech therapists; what steps she is taking designed to increase this number; and when she expects to reach the operational number as recommended by the Quirk Report.
§ Mr. Alfred MorrisThe number of students currently undergoing training as speech therapists in England and Wales is 639.
I am in consultation with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science to consider possible ways of increasing the number of speech therapists. Schools have been encouraged to increase the number of students in training and several are in the process of doing so. In addition, the university of Newcastle-upon-Tyne provides a BSs in Speech, and last year the university of Manchester began a course leading to a BSc in Speech Pathology and Therapy. The university of Reading has proposed a course leading to a BA in Linguistics and Language Pathology to start this year.
It is not possible at present to predict when the target of 2,500 full-time speech therapists, as recommended by the Quirk Report, will be reached.