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Senedd Members warned Wales has fewer speech and language therapists per head of population than any other part of the UK.

The Conservatives’ Mark Isherwood led a debate supporting the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists’ call for improved workforce planning for the profession.

He said: “Having personally battled 24 years ago to secure speech and language therapy for one of my children, I know how critical it is for young lives and life chances.”

Mr Isherwood pointed to statistics showing 71% of those in the youth justice system have speech, language and communication needs, compared with 10% for children as a whole.

He warned only half of youth justice services have speech and language therapists embedded within teams, with none in mid and north Wales.

‘Misunderstanding’

Mr Isherwood, who has campaigned on disability rights for decades, said only 5% of children had their communication needs identified before entering the youth justice system.

He told the Senedd: “This is important in police interviews and court processes, where misunderstanding can lead to young people making uninformed choices, which may lead to inappropriate admission or sentencing.

“This is significant, with 80% of magistrates surveyed saying the attitude and demeanour of a young person influences their sentencing decision to some or a great extent.”

He called for urgent investment and long-term workforce planning, “which we should have had 20 years ago, to end the postcode lottery of services”.

Mr Isherwood said the royal college, which is marking its 80th anniversary this month, has reported demand rising significantly with waiting lists up by 33% since 2019.

‘Not on track’

Plaid Cymru’s Mabon ap Gwynfor agreed, saying demand for speech and language therapy services soared during the pandemic and has remained on an upward trajectory ever since.

He said: “But capacity and resourcing in this vital but often overlooked sector continues to lag behind. This has been especially pronounced in the youth justice system.”

The shadow health secretary raised the equality committee’s 2023 report on the issue as he warned of a lack of certainty over funding and inconsistencies in commissioning services.

While recognising a 21% increase in the number of speech and language therapists since 2019, Natasha Asghar said Wales trails England, which has seen a 50% rise.

The Tory said: “the Welsh Government wishes to see an increase in the number of people able to speak and receive services in Welsh, yet current workforce figures suggest that we are not on track in any way, shape or form to achieve this.”

‘Partnership’

Responding to the debate on January 22, Jeremy Miles raised investment in a speech and language therapy programme at Wrexham University aimed at keeping Welsh speakers.

The health secretary also pointed to the Welsh Government’s five-year plan, ‘More than just words’, to promote the Welsh language in health and social care.

Mr Miles said: “Our ‘Talk With Me’ speech, language and communication plan seeks to drive improvement in the way young children are supported to develop their skills.

“It was developed in close partnership with the royal college and other stakeholders across Wales, and it’s enabled us to target investment to what matters most.”

Senedd Members voted 24-22 against the Tory motion, with the Welsh Government’s amended version agreed 24-12 with ten abstentions.