5 November 2026
The results of our latest workforce survey show insufficient staffing levels to meet the high demand for communication, eating, drinking, and swallowing support.
The RCSLT’s annual workforce survey of speech and language therapy service leads took place in spring 2026, with 132 services responding from England. The survey results show that many services in England report not having enough qualified SLTs to meet the needs of their service, and that freezes and cuts to posts are being reported, particularly in the NHS.
Key results
- 63% of speech and language therapy services said staffing levels were not sufficient to meet demand for their support
- NHS services were worst affected (with 74% reporting insufficient staffing levels). This was followed by 43% of services in education/local authorities, and 23% of independent practices.
- 55% of the services said they experienced the greatest recruitment challenges with Band 6 roles, 31% said these were with Band 7 and 10% said these were with Band 5 roles.
- 24% of SLT services said that posts had been frozen in the last year, which meant they were unable to recruit to the roles. NHS SLT services were worst affected (33%), followed by those in the independent sector (15%), and in education/local authorities (10%).
- 15% of SLT services said that posts had been cut in the last year. NHS SLT services were worst affected (16%), followed by those in education/local authorities (10%), and in the independent sector (8%).
Latest NHS England data for community speech and language therapy (August 2026) shows over 86,000 people were waiting for first appointments – almost enough to fill Wembley Stadium. There was also a 25% increase in the number of adults waiting for first appointments between August 2023 and August 2026.
Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists’ Chief Executive, Steve Jamieson, said: “These statistics show the continued impact of unfilled vacancies, inadequate funding and frozen posts on the thousands of children and adults waiting for life-transforming speech and language therapy. Graduates are struggling to find jobs and qualified speech and language therapists are unable to progress their careers.
“There’s not a short-term fix: we need long-term investment, proper workforce planning, effective commissioning and recognition of the skills and expertise that speech and language therapists bring.”
