Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of student nurses had already studied for a degree before training as a nurse in each of the last five years; and what estimate he has made of the number of new student nurses who have studied for a degree likely to start training as a nurse in each of the next five years.

The information about the proportion of student nurses that had already studied for a degree before training as a nurse is not collected by the Department. Statistical information can be obtained from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

The Government does not have estimates of the number of student nurses who have studied for a degree and likely to start training. However we intend to make an exemption so that student nurses midwives and allied health professionals who already have a degree can access loans.