§ Dr. HarrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many speech therapists are currently employed within the NHS; how many vacancies exist for speech therapists within the NHS; and what steps the Government are taking to recruit more speech therapists.[14732]
§ Mr. MilburnThere were 3,580 whole-time equivalent speech and language therapists, excluding assistants and trainees, employed by the National Health Service Hospital and Community Health Services at 30 September 1996—the latest year for which figures are available. Information on the number of vacancies is not available centrally. The Government are ensuring that effective recruitment and retention policies are in place to make the best use of trained staff and that training levels are sufficiently high to match supply and demand.
58W
National Health Service current expenditure 1993–94 to 1998–99 Gross expenditure Net expenditure Real growth2 Percentage real growth2 Real growth2 Percentage real growth2 Year1 £ million 1996–97 prices £ million 1996–97 prices 1993–94 304 1.0 395 1.4 1994–95 932 3.0 998 3.4 1995–96 754 2.4 749 2.5 1996–97 593 1.8 626 2.0 1997–983 727 2.2 692 2.2 1998–994 644 1.9 677 2.1 1 1978–79 to 1996–97 are outturn figures, 1997–98 is forecast outturn and 1998–99 is planned expenditure. 2 Using GDP deflator of 2 July 1997. 3 Forecast outturn for 1997–98 includes the extra resources announced for this winter on 14 October. 4Planned expenditure for 1998–99 includes the extra £1 billion announced at the 2 July Budget.