Speech Therapy Services (Children)

I thank the hon. Gentleman for an interesting contribution, which highlights a problem that covers so many areas of medical training: what comes in at the beginning does not always come out at the end. We have to support those who are making a commitment to public service. It is worth noting that speech and language therapists play an immensely important role across a wide range of areas. In the youth justice system, for example, the offenders are children, although we often do not think of them as such. The work that speech and language therapists do within young offender institutions is vital in reducing reoffending rates and crucial for improving life chances. The Children's Communication Coalition made an interesting comment in its June 2010 report:"““The true costs of not supporting children with speech, language and communication needs—above and beyond those that are measurable in direct financial terms—are very great indeed. The personal and familial costs of poor educational attainment, descent into criminality and long-term exclusion from the mainstream are hugely significant and potentially corrosive to society at large. Poor educational outcomes often lead to poorly paid jobs or unemployment. In turn, this can lead to a perpetuation of the poverty trap and a vicious cycle of health problems and health inequalities””." In a sense, that could sum up the entire debate in 30 seconds, and I could just sit down. It covers everything we need to be concerned about.