§ Mr. Alan CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the likely(a) number of and (b) requirement for speech and language therapists in the NHS in each of the next five years; [36770]
(2) what plans he has to increase the number of university training places in speech and language therapy. [36774]
§ Mr. HuttonThe NHS Plan commits us to 4,450 more therapists and other professional staff being trained each year by 2004 than there were in 1999.
Between 1999–2000 and 2000–01 the number of speech and language therapy training commissions increased by 101. We are working with workforce development confederations to determine the split in the remainder of commissions that make up the NHS Plan target. Recommendations on the final allocation will be made by the Workforce Numbers Advisory Board (WNAB) later in the year and will take into account supply and demand information for speech and language therapy. WNAB will also look at the need for further training commissions beyond 2004.