Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to either (1) reimburse tuition fees, or (2) clear current student debt, for all nursing, midwifery and allied healthcare students affected by the removal of the NHS bursary.

There are no plans to do so. In September 2020, we introduced a non-repayable, training grant of £5,000 per academic year for eligible nursing, midwifery and allied health profession students studying pre-registration courses at English universities. We also made a further £3,000 available to support students with childcare costs and those studying a specialist subject. These grants are in addition to funding available through the Students Loan Company and through the NHS Learning Support Fund for travel expenses, accommodation expenses and exceptional hardship. We keep the funding arrangements for all National Health Service health professionals’ education under review to ensure that students are appropriately supported.