Voices for Change: Advocating for Speech and Language Therapy in Parliament

Last week, there was a parliamentary debate on the speech and language therapy services in the U.K.  The discussion opened by Dave Robertson was held on 27 January, 2025 to discuss an e-petition created by Mikey, who has communication difficulties and wanted to do something to advocate for others like him.  The petition was called Increase Investment in Speech and Language Therapy and it gathered over 10,000 signatures. It was heartening to hear others speaking on behalf of those we support through our practice on a daily basis. We are not used to hearing politicians talk in a way which demonstrates an actual awareness of the importance of communication as a human right so that was also encouraging. As a therapy practice providing services to those who are not currently accessing NHS funded services, we know all too well that we are only able to provide for those who are able to financially afford this.  However, there may yet be hope for the NHS funding speech therapy crisis.  One of the speakers quoted a statistic that for every £1 spent on speech and language there is a savings of £2 for the health service. That means spending public money on speech and language therapy services it actually saves money for the health service! The time to change things is now although we have been advocating for change for over a decade, it is really at a turning point.   If you want to listen to the parliament session, check it out. https://www.youtube.com/live/PQgj8HSw9UQ?si=xo8rQ7DbCKRq3G7l