Increase investment in Speech and Language Therapy.
The Parliament petitions site records 13,188 signatures for this petition, which closed on 29 May 2024. The Government responded on 18 April 2024. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 27 January 2025.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Increase investment in Speech and Language Therapy.
We want the Government to increase investment in speech and language therapy so people of all ages - babies, children and young people, and adults - with communication and/or swallowing needs can get the support they and their families need.
Thousands of people across the country with communication and/or swallowing needs require timely access to speech and language therapy.
But for too long, there has not been enough funding for speech and language therapy services. Nor has the current and future speech and language therapy workforce been properly planned for.
We are calling on the Government to increase investment in speech and language therapy, so people can get the support they and their families need.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 18 April 2024; the petitions site lists the Department of Health and Social Care as responsible. Its summary:
This government has increased investment in the NHS since 2019 in real terms. Systems are developing plans to reduce waits and we are committed to growing the Speech and Language Therapy workforce.
The opening 323 words of the 766-word response:
We recognise the impact that long waits to access speech and language therapy can have on the individual, their families and carers. Demand has been rising for speech and language therapies. The most recent data shows, as of February 2024, 72,661 children and 20,648 adults were waiting for Speech and Language Therapy.
Addressing waiting times for community health services, including Speech and Language Therapy, is a priority for the NHS and this Government. Published on 27 March 2024, the NHS England 2024/25 priorities and operational planning guidance asked local systems to develop a comprehensive plan by June 2024 to reduce the overall waiting times for community services. This includes reducing waits over 52 weeks for children’s community services. NHS England will work with Integrated Care Boards and providers of these services to set a specific ambition and improve data capture. NHS England is also working to understand what more can be done to reduce waits for Speech and Language Therapy.
NHS England continues to monitor community services’ waiting lists. Data is published monthly on NHS England’s website: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/community-health-services-waiting-lists/
Workforce is cited as a limiting factor in delivering additional speech and language therapy. The number of therapists working in the NHS in England has increased in recent years, but we recognise the need to improve access to therapies, including Speech and Language Therapies. That is why we are undertaking the biggest nursing, midwifery, and Allied Health Professional recruitment drive in decades. This includes the recruitment of Speech and Language Therapists. The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan sets out an ambition to increase Allied Health Professional training places by 25% to over 18,800 by 2031/32. NHS England has committed to refreshing the modelling that underpins the Long Term Workforce Plan every two years or in line with fiscal events.
Since September 2020, all eligible nursing, midwifery, and allied health profession students have received a non-repayable training grant of a minimum of £5,000 per academic year.
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies on the boundaries used until the 2024 general election. The largest number, 124, came from Altrincham and Sale West.
13,119 of the signatures were from the UK and 69 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures |
|---|---|
| Altrincham and Sale West | 124 |
| Sheffield, Hallam | 97 |
| Sheffield Central | 93 |
| Lichfield | 70 |
| Stretford and Urmston | 70 |
| Meriden | 62 |
| South Ribble | 60 |
| Hertford and Stortford | 59 |
| Wythenshawe and Sale East | 59 |
| Wealden | 56 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| South East | 2,154 |
| North West | 1,777 |
| London | 1,764 |
| West Midlands | 1,327 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 1,261 |
| East of England | 1,152 |
| South West | 1,023 |
| Scotland | 781 |
| East Midlands | 652 |
| Wales | 490 |
| North East | 439 |
| Northern Ireland | 242 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 27 January 2025. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/657935.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
01ee3553de118919… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.