Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to encourage people from lower-income backgrounds to study medicine, in the context of the availability of financial support for maintenance available in the fifth and sixth years of a medicine degree.

From year five of their undergraduate course, medical students can access the NHS Bursary. This is non-repayable and comprises payment for tuition fees, income-assessed help towards living costs, and where eligible, further allowances, such as for dependents and childcare and for those living with a disability. A further grant may also be available to medical students who are struggling financially, depending on their current financial circumstances.

Students eligible for the NHS Bursary can also apply for a reduced rate loan for living costs from Student Finance England. The Government is committed to supporting people from all backgrounds to study medicine and these funding arrangements are reviewed annually.