Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the NHS spends on (a) supporting and (b) promoting careers in medicine to young people from deprived communities.

This information is not collected centrally.

Health Education England operates a widening participation programme which aims to develop a healthcare workforce that can relate to and be representative of the communities it serves. The programme includes specific activity conducted through the Sutton Trust’s Pathways to Medicine Programme, that relates to widening access to medical careers for under-represented groups and people of disadvantage.

As part of this, Health Education England has established a five-year partnership with the Sutton Trust, backed by investment of over £210,000 over the five years, to work with two universities, in supporting around 300 individuals from under-represented groups and disadvantaged backgrounds to enter medical training. There around 550 participants who have gone through or are going through the programme.