Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of recent changes to funding for nurse training on (a) the recruitment of mature graduates and (b) other nurse recruitment; and what plans he has for future levels of medical school and nursing course places, in the context of recent trends in levels of NHS staffing.

No such assessment has been made. Tuition fees and student maintenance loans for nursing training are set by the Department for Education. Through the Department of Health and Social Care, eligible students also continue to receive support whilst they are studying, through the Learning Support Fund, which includes a non-repayable grant of £5,000 a year. The Government keeps the funding arrangements for all healthcare students under close review.

We have launched a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the National Health Service. A central and core part of this plan will be our workforce, and how we ensure we train and provide the staff the NHS needs, including doctors and nurses, to care for patients across our communities.