§ Mr. SwayneTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many vacancies there are for speech and language therapists; and if he will make a statement. [57087]
§ Mr. HuttonAs at 31 March 2001 there were 200 vacancies for speech and language therapists that had lasted for three months or more.
Between 1997 and 2001 the number of speech and language therapists working in the national health service has increased by 810 (11 per cent.) and the number of training places available for students has increased by over a hundred since 1998. There will be further increases in the number of students entering training as a result of the NHS Plan commitment to provide 4,450 more training places each year for therapists and other health 589W professionals by 2004. The increased investment in training, work to make the NHS a better employer and encourage return to practice, will result in a continued increase in the number of speech therapists available to work in the NHS.