§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage increase there has been in the total establishment of speech therapists since 1979; how many posts are currently filled and how many vacancies exist; and how many speech therapists have left the profession in the past 11 years.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyInformation about the establishment and the number of speech therapists leaving the profession for the periods requested is not collected centrally. At 30 September 1979, there were 1,510 speech therapists in post; by 30 September 1989, this number had risen to 2,830, an increase of over 87 per cent. At 31 March 1989 there were 178 funded posts vacant for over three months.
§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the local authorities which use their discretionary powers to supplement health authority provision of speech therapy.
§ Mr. DorrellThis information is not available centrally.