Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many students wanting to study medicine have been turned down because of a lack of places at universities in England.

Medicine is a hugely competitive course, and consistently has far more applicants than there are places available.

The department has funded an additional 1,500 undergraduate medical school places each year for domestic students in England – a 25% increase over three years. This expansion was completed in September 2020 and has delivered five new medical schools in England. In addition, we temporarily lifted the cap on medical and dental school places for students who completed A levels in 2020 and in 2021 and who had an offer from a university in England to study medicine or dentistry, subject to their grades.

My right hon. Friend, the former Secretary of State for Education, and my hon. Friend, the former Minister for Health, have made clear to all medicine and dental schools, in joint letters in October 2021 and again in March 2022, that there is no room for flexibility this year, and it is the department's firm expectation that all schools will only recruit up to the maximum number of students as set in the Office for Students’ intake targets.

We are confident that providers will make fair decisions around admissions and students who are unable to secure a place in medicine will have a number of other high-quality options, either within higher education or through other post-18 pathways.