Page 98 - SEN114 September/October 2021

Petition watch
Petition watch
Our readers are passionate about a wide range of issues. Here we will provide you with opportunities to support initiatives which are of importance to you.
Petition Watch comprises a list of petitions relating to SEN which are currently active on the UK Parliament website with more than 100 signatures at the time of compilation.
To add your name to any of these, go to the relevant page on the UK Parliament website (petition.parliament.uk). The petitions are not just symbolic. Any which reach 10,000 names will receive a response from HM Government. At 100,000 names, there is a chance that it will receive a debate in Parliament.
We will continue to monitor and update this list in future issues, and of course report in more detail on any which meet either threshold.
Increase funding to provide support
and research into Tourettes Syndrome
Tourettes affect 1 in 100 children, yet the support provided is minimal and very patchy across the UK, some areas have NO support.
There’s only a handful of specialist Tourettes centres in the whole of the UK - we need more of these to provide care for EVERYONE! More research leads to more help!
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/575370
Government Response:
The majority of services for people with Tourette’s syndrome are commissioned locally by Clinical Commissioning Groups. These services will be appropriate for the majority of children and young people with Tourette’s syndrome, and the teams involved will refer them to multidisciplinary teams including clinical psychologists where necessary.
To increase the number of trained clinical psychologists available, Health Education England has supported a 60 per cent expansion in the clinical psychology training intake over the past two years. Trainees are able to undertake specialist placements focusing on Tourette’s syndrome, in addition to Tourette’s syndrome featuring as part of the broader neuropsychology curriculum.
For those who require more detailed specialist support, there are a small number of recognised services
with focused multidisciplinary teams assessing and supporting children with tics, Tourette’s syndrome and motor stereotypies and their families.
The Department of Health and Social Care funds research into conditions through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition. Since 2018, £2.1 million has been invested into research
on Tourette’s syndrome through NIHR’s research programmes.
Department of Health and Social Care
Fund improved support for people with
communication and swallowing needs
We want the Government to improve the lives of people
of all ages with communication and swallowing needs by ensuring they are able to access the speech and language therapy that they and their families and carers need.
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/587872
Government Response:
We welcome the recent report “Speech and language therapy during and beyond COVID-19” by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and its recommendations.
We are undertaking the biggest nursing, midwifery, and Allied Health Professional recruitment drive in decades, which includes recruitment of speech and language therapists. In 2020 there were 620 acceptances to speech and language therapy programmes in England, an increase of 28% on 2019.
On 23 November 2020 we published a Wellbeing and Mental Health Support Plan for COVID-19, setting out the steps we have taken to strengthen the support available for people who are struggling, including those with communication and swallowing needs.
With respect to speech and language therapies specifically for children and young people, last summer NHS England and Improvement (NHSE/I) published guidance making clear that essential services provided in the community, including therapies, should be restarted for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) aged up to 25 years who have an Education Health and Care Plan in place or who are going through an assessment for one.
Department of Health and Social Care
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