§ Mrs. Chalkerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what plans he has to so register speech therapists that their services do not attract 8 per cent. value added tax where their services are employed privately to deal with specialist difficulties and in areas where National Health Service and educational provision is inadequate.
§ Mr. DeakinsNone. It is the wish of the professional body concerned to remain outside the scope of the legislation currently providing for statutory registration of health service practitioners, and new legislation setting up a statutory register of speech therapists could not be justified solely to give exemption from liability to charge value added tax to those few private speech therapists whose taxable supplies exceed £7,500 a year.