Lord WINSTANLEYasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, in view of their Written Answer of 15th April (col. 271) to the 1412WA cols. 971–972) by giving the figures for 1977 and 1978.
§ Lord CULLEN of ASHBOURNEThe information for Great Britain is as follows:
effect that information regarding the number of posts for National Health Service speech therapists at present unfilled is not available centrally, they will now collect this information and consider whether the present number of vacancies is related to salaries and working hours.
§ Lord CULLEN of ASHBOURNEInformation on unfilled vacancies is not collected centrally because the circumstances in which posts are created, vacancies arise and are filled, or otherwise, will vary considerably from case to case and between different health authorities. Accordingly, a bare statement of vacancies would not be very meaningful and a more elaborate inquiry is not considered justifiable. The number of speech therapists employed in the NHS has, however, grown steadily each year and meets the growth targets originally established by the 1972 Quirk Report.
House adjourned at twenty-four minutes before eleven o'clock.