Oral Answers to Questions

Martyn Day Excerpts

Tuesday 10th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Carol Monaghan (Glasgow North West) (SNP)]

7. What assessment he has made of the potential effect of his proposals to reform the NHS bursary on future levels of recruitment into the medical professions.

[Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP)]

10. What assessment he has made of the potential effect of his proposals to reform the NHS bursary on future levels of recruitment into the medical professions.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Ben Gummer)]

The reform to the NHS bursary will lift the cap currently placed on university places for nurses, midwives and allied health professions. Universities will be able to train up to 10,000 extra students by the end of this Parliament. This increase in UK graduates will reduce NHS reliance on expensive agency staff and staff from overseas.

--- Later in debate ---

[Ben Gummer]

The NHS benefits enormously from mature students entering the service, and that is why we have already said that we will be looking at offering second-degree bursaries in the scheme. The consultation is clear: it asks a number of open questions, inviting responses from nurses and nurse trainees about how best to support mature students. We will be looking at those carefully as we formulate our conclusions.

[Martyn Day]

With the increased cost of training as a nurse and a 1% pay freeze throughout this Parliament, how does the Secretary of State plan to recruit and retain sufficient nurses in permanent posts in the short term, so that patient care and staff wellbeing are not negatively affected?

[Ben Gummer]

South of the border we have been able over the past six years to increase the number of nurses, both in training and in the service, which has been made possible by the stronger economy and the stewardship of the NHS, in such contrast to the developing picture in Scotland. We are able to expand the numbers in training by up to 10,000 between now and 2020 as a result of that innovative policy, and that is why it should also be adopted in Scotland.