SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPY

Early day motion 85, tabled 12 December 2000 by Lord Cotter (Liberal Democrat). Signed by 68 members.

That this House expresses serious concern about the lack of speech and language therapy provision across the United Kingdom; notes that problems in recruiting and retaining trained speech and language therapists are leading to waiting times for appointments reaching many months and in some areas years; recognises the impact that communication problems can have on every aspect of life, with particular concern surrounding the long-term effects on young children; acknowledges the difficulties facing health authorities and local education authorities in meeting their legal requirements to provide this service for children as set out in SEN statements; and calls on Her Majesty's Government to address the crisis in provision of speech and language therapy for people of all ages and needs as a matter of urgency.

Signatures by party: Labour 38, Liberal Democrat 23, Labour/Co-operative 2, Plaid Cymru 2, UUP 2, Conservative 1.