Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many student midwives were in receipt of a bursary in each academic year since 2016-17; what the average bursary paid to a student midwife was in each of those years; and what the total cost of those bursaries was to his Department in each of those years.
The following table shows the number of midwifery students in receipt of bursary funding in the last two completed academic years and the average payment per student.
Academic Year | Student Count1 | Total Value of Payments (£)2 | Average Per Student (£) |
2016/17 | 6,485 | 35,798,444 | 5,520 |
2017/18 | 4,146 | 23,815,211 | 5,744 |
Source: NHS Business Services Authority
Notes:
1Any student who received any element of bursary funding whilst enrolled on a midwifery course
2Total payment(s) of any award element, i.e. Basic Award or supplementary allowances
In August 2017 the education funding system changed with all new pre-registration undergraduate nursing, midwifery and allied health profession students accessing student loans for tuition fees and living costs rather than a National Health Service bursary. In August 2018 postgraduate pre-registration nursing, midwifery and allied health profession students also began to access student loans.