Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report of the Children's Commissioner entitled, We need to talk: Access to speech and language therapy, published in June 2019, what plans he has to ensure that expenditure data is collected on the support local areas provide for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs.

The Department is keen to work with the Children’s Commissioner’s Office and other partners on options for producing expenditure data on speech, language and communication services. Officials will discuss this matter at the next available opportunity.