Find out more about the results from the latest RCSLT workforce survey conducted in spring 2026.
(Last updated November 2026)
RCSLT surveyed speech and language therapy service leads in early 2026 through our workforce survey.
The information on this page takes a closer look at the results from respondents in England.
The picture in England
We received 132 responses service leads in England, of these 65% were from NHS services, 16% from education or local authority (non-NHS) services, 11% from independent services with no NHS contract and 8% from other services.
The survey results show that many service leads 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.
Summary of the key results
- 63% of services (83 of 131 who answered) said they do not have enough qualified SLTs to meet the needs of their service.
- By service type, this was 74% of NHS services (64 of 86) compared to 43% of education and local authority services (9 of 21) and 23% of independent services with no NHS contract (3 of 13) who said they do not have enough qualified SLTs to meet the needs of their service.
- Within the NHS, 71% of children’s services (15 of 21) and 71% of adult services (30 of 42) said they did not have enough qualified SLTs to meet the service needs.
- 24% of services (32 of 131) said qualified posts in their service had been frozen in the last year, including 33% in the NHS (28 of 86).
- 15% of services (19 of 131) said qualified posts in their service had been cut in the last year, including 16% in the NHS (14 of 86).
- 55% of the service leads who answered (45 of 82) said Band 6 is where they find recruitment hardest.
Breakdown by service type
Service type |
Responses |
Staffing not sufficient |
Frozen posts |
Posts cut |
| NHS | 86 | 74% | 33% | 16% |
| Education/ local authority (LA) | 21 | 43% | 10% | 10% |
| Independent (no NHS contract) | 14 | 23% | 15% | 8% |
| All responses in England | 132 | 63% | 24% | 15% |
About the survey
The survey was voluntary, so figures describe the service leads who responded and reflect their reports about their own service. It counts services reporting freezes or cuts, not the number of posts. “All responses” include independent providers of NHS services and other services. Percentages use the number of service leads who answered each question. Children’s and adult services are those working only with those client groups.
Responses from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
Responses from Wales were analysed as part of our RCSLT Wales State of the Nation Report. We did not receive enough responses from Scotland and Northern Ireland.
