RCSLT News Aug 2024: influencing to Parliament; EDI; launch of Buddy Chat; Government in Wales

In August's news:
- Influencing into the new government in Parliament.
- Update on RCSLT's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion work and plans. See also reponse to the riots across the UK: www.rcslt.org/news/rcslt-respons…ots-across-the-uk/
- Launch of Buddy Chat course in Northern Ireland. This is for children to learn to communicate with others who have communication issues - and is facilitated by teachers.
- Changes in Welsh government.

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This interview was conducted by Victoria Harris, Head of Learning at The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and features Derek Munn, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at the RCSLT.

Please be aware that the views expressed are those of the guests and not the RCSLT.

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Transcript

Transcript Date: 

24 August 2024 

Speaker Key (delete/anonymise if not required): 

HOST:                         VICTORIA HARRIS 

DEREK:                      DEREK MUNN 

MUSIC PLAYS: 0:00:00-0:00:01

HOST:                         0:00:01 Hello, and welcome to the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists news podcast for August 2024. I’m Vicky Harris, and I’m here with Derek Munn, the RCSLT’s Director of Policy and Public Affairs for our regular monthly catch-up. We’ll be covering the key issues in activities relating to speech and language therapy. 

Good morning, Derek. 

DEREK:                      0:00:22 Hello. 

HOST:                         0:00:24 So, the government in Westminster is relatively, and I’m sure it has a really packed agenda, but I’m sure listeners be interested in hearing about how the RCSLT influences in that area and [influence is 0:00:34] to that agenda. What are you doing in that space at the moment? How are you advocating for speech and language therapy in parliament, please, Derek? 

DEREK:                      0:00:47 The Westminster parliament is in recess over the summer, when MPs go do stuff in their constituencies and so on. But obviously the government continues. 

We’re going through a sequence, which we talked about a little last month, where we’ve written to cabinet ministers [and then 0:01:06] you write to junior ministers, and then you write to all parliamentarians, and then we encourage others to do the same. So, we’ve started to get letters back. For example, the letter we sent to the Secretary of State for Justice. The reply that came back came from Lord Timpson, the prisons minister. Which is perfect, because it’s actually Lord Timpson, really, that we want to develop a relationship with. So, that that continues to go. 

Likewise, parliamentary questions carry on over the summer, both in the Commons and the Lords. We’ve had parliamentary allies put down a range of questions, including on mental health, on the availability of children’s services in different parts of the country, on waiting times, poverty, around major conditions. So, there’s a number of areas where we’ve sought just an update where the new government is at in terms of its thinking using parliamentary questions as the mechanism. So, that’s been going on on the government, parliamentary side. 

The government itself has continued over the summer. On the health side, Wes Streeting asked Lord Darzi to do an analysis of the problems. Basically, Wes Streeting’s [inaudible 0:02:18] the NHS in England is broke. We need to work out what that is about before we can fix it. That would be his position. So, Lord Darzi’s going to ask to look at that. 

There’s quite a big steering group supporting the Darzi review, which is a short life review of six weeks over the summer. The only allied health professional representative on that steering group is Steve Jamieson, our CEO, so we’ve got direct input in the room to the Darzi review. 

And then on the education side, I think I mentioned last month that Bridget Phillipson and the Education Secretary have continued to talk about children’s early language, which was a pledge in the Labour manifesto. So, we are advocating particularly around oracy and the focus on oracy, and saying, this is fine, but this is how your oracy strategy needs to work for children and young people with speech, language, and communication needs. So, we’re also operating in that space. 

HOST:                         0:03:19 Thank you, Derek. A lot going on there. And then also we’re working on equality, diversity, and inclusion, and that’s one of the golden threads that runs through the RCSLT’s strategic plan. I wonder if you can fill us in on what’s happening there, please, Derek? 

DEREK:                      0:03:36 Equality, or equity as it’s sometimes known equity, diversity, and inclusion. Has the Royal College got it right? No. Has any organisation? I fear not. Is it something that’s going to go on as a journey? Absolutely. And we know that winning the trust of members and others who have experienced discrimination and oppression is an ongoing challenge that we need to rise to and accept that we don’t get everything right. 

What we’ve done of late is bring together, in July, the networks and groups of different strands relating to equality to take stock of where we’re at, talk about what the next vision needs to be, we’ll talk about what the next statement needs to be. This includes [inaudible 0:04:30] to anti-racism, it includes material that will be coming out shortly around disabled SLTs and neurodiverse SLTs, which we’ll be able to publish very soon. 

We know, for example, that we need to think about the experience of Jewish members and make sure that that is properly understood and put forward. 

In the midst of all this, we had the frankly racist riots in recent weeks. We obviously responded with a statement that [inaudible 0:05:02] for government, for NHS as employers, for Unite as the union, but it’s the professional body. We’re saying that we know that there were black members and Muslim members in a position of real fear about going out to do visits in the community in the midst of the racist riots, and know that the Royal College as the professional body stands in solidarity with that.

HOST:                         0:05:25 That’s brilliant. Thank you. I will put a link to that statement. Onto different things now. The Northern Ireland office, I understand, has an exciting launch coming up soon, maybe even next week. Could you share anything about that with people, please? 

DEREK:                      0:05:37 Yes, and I think it’s already been on TV in Northern Ireland, so we’re not breaking too much of a secret. But we are delighted that we will finally be launching a classroom resource called Buddy Chat. It’s brilliant because it’s been co-produced with children, both with communication needs and not. And it’s about tools and resources to explain speech, language, and communication needs to children in a classroom context. It’s aimed primarily as a resource for teachers. 

I think we’ve got 150 people, at least, going next week to the launch in Northern Ireland. Steve will be there, as will our president, Nick Hewer, and I’m delighted that the Buddy Chat is finally going to see the light of day. 

HOST:                         0:06:23 Fantastic. That’s really something to look forward to. And is there anything else listeners might be interested in, please? 

DEREK:                      0:06:31 I think it’s just worth mentioning the government changes in Wales. Eluned Morgan who was the health secretary in Wales is now the First Minister of Wales. She has brought back in, on a temporary basis, Mark Drakeford, who was the previous First Minister of Wales and also health secretary, to be the kind of transitional health secretary. 

So, I know it’s confusing. The Welsh Assembly isn’t that big, and there is a bit of moving deck chairs around. But essentially, we have a new First Minister and a new Health Secretary in Wales, and we’re obviously… we know them both and we’re already reaching out to them. 

DEREK:                      0:07:08 Great. Thank you, Derek. It’s a very short but concise update this month, so thank you for that. I just need to let listeners know about some podcasts from the app. Our next news podcast would be on 20 September, so just under a month away. And we’re also working on a couple of podcasts – one on speech and language therapists’ role in literacy, and then also an International Journal piece on collaborative working with parents of children with DLD, so look out for those, please. 

MUSIC PLAYS: 0:07:38 

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