To ask the Minister of Health, in relation to the recommendations of the Speech and Language Therapy Workforce Review 2019 – 2029, whether he will commit to ensuring 40 commissioned training places for Speech and Language Therapists will be offered for the September 2024 academic year intake at Ulster University.

The commissioning of pre-registration education and training by my Department is reviewed annually, taking into account a range of factors including staffing and vacancy levels, recommendations from workforce reviews, priorities, and affordability. I remain committed to implementing the recommendations of the Speech and Language Therapy Workforce Review 2019 – 2029 which will require increasing the number of undergraduate training places commissioned each year by 12 to reach an annual total of 40.

A budget for Northern Ireland Departments has not yet been set for 2024/25 and accordingly I am unable to make any commitment to expand commissioned places at this time. I will continue to make the case for this essential investment in our future workforce. However, I expect that the 2024/25 budget will be extremely challenging.