§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what representations he has received from the Association for All Speech Impaired Children on the subject of the provision of language units and speech therapists for children with speech and language impairment who are not classified as educationally subnormal; what reply he has given; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Alfred MorrisI can find no record of having received such representations. Existing policy calls for close collaboration of health and education authorities in arranging speech therapy provision for school Children. The nature of such provision is essentially for local agreement.
§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what improvement there has been in the establishment of speech therapists in the Bolton, Rochdale, Oldham, Wigan, Salford and Trafford areas since November 1975 when the Under-Secretary of State described these areas as being particularly under strength.
§ Mr. DeakinsThe overall improvement in the numbers of speech therapists employed in these areas is shown by the following figures of staff in post on the dates given.
Area Health Authority Staff in post at 30th September 1975 Staff in post at 5th April 1977 Increase/decrease (whole-time equivalent) Wigan … Nil 2.6 +2.6 Bolton … 1.18 3.0 +1.82 Rochdale … 0.61 1.58 +0.97 Salford … 3.7 2.7 -1.0* Oldham … 5.12 4.9 -0.22† Trafford … 2.64 3.82 +1.18 * Salford Area Health Authority are Currently trying to fill a vacant post. † The slight decrease in Oldham results from different sessional arrangements of staff employed since November 1975. The Area Health Authority is trying to remedy the matter.