More cash pledged for speech and language therapy services in West Norfolk

An extra £500,000 is to be invested into the provision of speech and language therapy services supporting young people in West Norfolk.

Officials say the move follows an independent review of the service, which concluded it did not have enough funding.

County council chiefs and health commissioners from across Norfolk have joined forces to provide the extra funding.

The move means that the current contract for the provision of the service, which runs until 2021, will now be worth £2.2 million a year instead of the previous £1.7 million.

Judy Oliver, vice-chairman of Norfolk County Council’s children’s services committee, said: “Speech and language skills are so important to children’s education and development, which is why we as a council are increasing our funding in this crucial area.

“At the same time, we are investing £120m in specialist school places for children and doubling the size of our specialist teams that carry our assessments for education, health and care plans.

“We are committed to getting the right support for children with special educational needs as early as possible.”

Under the revised terms of the agreement, the county council will provide £1.2 million towards the provision, with the remainder coming from clinical commissioning groups across the county.

Officials say the cash will help to increase staffing levels, provide more support for families with pre-school children with complex needs and to develop an improved service to schools.