Campaigner to meet Labour minister over failing Speech and Language Therapy provision

The Labour Party’s health and social care minister has agreed to meet with a Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) expert at Birmingham City University (BCU) after his petition calling for more government investment in SLT provision gained over 10,000 signatures in just 15 days.

Meet Mikey: raising awareness of failing Speech and Language Therapy provision

Mikey Akers, 23, has been raising awareness of verbal dyspraxia for years and works with students and researchers at BCU to share his lived experience and to help train new therapists as an expert-by-experience.

His petition, which called for more investment in SLT nationwide, was debated in parliament at the end of January after being introduced by the MP for Lichfield, Dave Robertson.

Mikey said:

I made some amazing connections on the day, and I’m so pleased to know I’ll be meeting the Minister as a result of the campaign. It was exciting to see the very people who can make a change talking about the state of speech and language services here in the UK.

I really hope this was the first steps towards change.

As of November 2024, nearly 90,000 people were on an NHS waiting list for therapy, with children and young people accounting for more than 60,000 of that number. Of those seeking therapy, 45% were waiting for more than 12 weeks for an appointment.

According to Department for Education data, 369,941 pupils had speech, language and communication needs in England in 2023/24 – an increase of more than 64% from 225,245 in 2015/16.

Quoting data from the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT), Dave Robertson MP began the debate by describing current services as a postcode lottery:

Integrated Care Board spending per child on SLT can vary from 58p to £16.35. The issue needs to be looked at through the lens of social justice… 25% of all children, when they go to primary school, have some form of diagnosed or undiagnosed speech, language and communications need.

If one looks at the most deprived areas of the country, that percentage rises to 50%. We know that it is not always about just funding or putting more money into the system.

No amount of funding in the world can replace a human being actually doing that role, or the skills, training and care that they provide for the people they are supporting.

Labour commits – so it must follow through

Gillian Rudd, Senior Lecturer in SLT at BCU, said more needed to be done to encourage therapists to join and stay in the profession:

MPs from across all parties recognised the unique and important role of speech and language therapists, and shared stories about the difference that therapists have made for their families and constituents.

It was also important that they recognised the myriad challenges that services are facing, especially that the workforce needs better planning, recruitment and retention.

Mikey and Gillian were praised by a number of MPs, including Mikey’s local MP Saqib Bhatti, who first started campaigning with him in 2022.

He described Mikey as a “giant when it comes to standing up for children and adults with verbal dyspraxia” and said he had “given a voice to so many”.

Mikey and Gillian were joined at Westminster by footballer and commentator Chris Kamara, who was diagnosed with apraxia three years ago.

He described the debate as “unbelievably positive”.

Minister for health and social care Stephen Kinnock MP said SLT provision would feature heavily in the new NHS 10-year plan:

Community health services – and speech and language therapies in particular – speak to the three seismic shifts that will drive our 10-year plan: shifting healthcare from hospitals to communities; focusing on prevention; and embracing digital care,

I would of course be delighted to meet Mikey, Chris and the team at a mutually convenient time to discuss the project and how to take it forward.

For more information on BCU’s Speech and Language Therapy Clinic, head to the website.