NDM8795 Welsh Conservatives Debate - Speech and language therapists

NDM8795 Paul Davies (Preseli Pembrokeshire)

To propose that the Senedd:

1. Notes the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists' 80th anniversary this month.

2. Recognises the crucial role that speech and language therapists carry out in providing treatment, support and care for people with additional communication needs.

3. Regrets that in Wales there are fewer speech and language therapists per head of the population, than in any other part of the UK.

4. Understands that according to the Youth Justice Board, 71 per cent of sentenced children have speech, language or communication needs.

5. Supports calls from the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists to increase the number of speech and language therapists in Wales and improve workforce planning for the profession.

6. Calls on the Welsh Government to:

a) establish a clear, sustainable funding model for speech and language therapists within youth justice teams across Wales; and

b) work with the UK Government to mandate the presence of a speech and language therapist in all youth justice teams as a statutory requirement.

Youth Justice Board report - 'Assessing the needs of sentenced children in the Youth Justice System 2019-20'

The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists State of the Nation report - 'The Speech and Language Therapy Workforce in Wales'

The following amendment was tabled:

Amendment 1 Jane Hutt (Vale of Glamorgan)

Delete all after point 2 and replace with:

Notes:

a) the Welsh Government’s decision to continue to fund and commission speech and language therapist education in Wales, including a new bilingual programme in Wrexham; and

b) the number of speech and language therapist education places in Wales has increased since 2023.

Calls on the Welsh Government to work with the UK Government to increase access to speech and language therapy in youth justice teams.