Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average cost to the NHS has been of employing a midwife on a full-time basis in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The Department’s estimates of the average cost to the National Health Service employing one midwife at a full-time equivalent (FTE) are set out in the following table in each of the last five years. These costs include total earnings, national insurance and pension contributions.
| Estimated Average Pay bill per FTE (Midwife) |
2013-14 | £46,053 |
2014-15 | £45,955 |
2015-16 | £46,096 |
2016-17 | £47,224 |
2017-18 | £47,381 |
Source: The Department’s Headline HCHS pay bill metrics, which are based primarily on earnings statistics published by NHS Digital, supplemented by employer pension and national insurance contributions estimates informed by unpublished and unvalidated data from the Electronic Staff Record Data Warehouse.
Pay bill per FTE levels do not depend solely on pay policy and pay awards. They also reflect patterns in those leaving and joining the workforce and the impact this has on average experience and pay levels, and they reflect patterns in non-basic earnings such as overtime which can fluctuate.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the cost of training a student midwife is paid by (a) the student, (b) his Department and (c) other sources.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
In England, the initial cost of training a midwife is paid by the Government. Part of this is in the form of student loan outlay, which the student accesses for tuition fees and maintenance loans from the Student Loans Company.
The following table shows indicative Government costs for each year of training a midwife who lives outside of London and away from home. It shows the maximum possible amount of each payment type available. Midwifery courses typically last three years.
Additional funding to students may also be available through the Student Loans Company and the Learning Support Fund. This is available to those with adult and child dependants, and for those in exceptional hardship. They may also be eligible for reimbursement of additional travel costs to attend clinical placements.
The amount shown in the table is paid by the Department directly to hospital trusts for a student’s clinical placement.
The amount paid back by the student depends on how much they earn during their career. If the loan is not fully repaid after 30 years it is written off. For example, once a student enters the workforce they pay their loans back at a rate of 9% of their earnings over the repayment threshold of £25,000. This equates to £15 a month for a student earning £27,000 a year.
Systems in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are the responsibilities of the devolved administrations in each of those countries.
2018/19 Indicative cost to the Government of training a midwife for each year of their training
Payment type | Cost | Paid by |
Costs of training | ||
Tuition fee loan to the university | £9,250 | Initially by Student Loans Company. Paid back by the student over time depending on earnings. |
Clinical placement funding to the placement provider | £1,383 + Market Forces Factor | Department of Health and Social Care |
Additional costs for living support | ||
Maintenance loan to the student | £8,700 | Initially by Student Loans Company. Paid back by the student over time depending on earnings. |
Long courses loan to the student | £1,116 | |
Notes:
- Based on a student who lives away from their parents.
- Based on a student who lives outside of London and is eligible for the maximum amount of maintenance allowance available.
- Based on a student on a 42-week course, of which 20 weeks are on clinical placement.
- Placement funding includes Market Forces Factor (MFF). The MFF compensates for difference in the cost of providing training in different parts of the country.
Sources:
Tuition fee loan:
Maintenance loan:
Long courses loan:
Clinical placement funding:
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
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.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
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.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the reasons that midwives have provided for leaving NHS employment in each of the last five years for which information is available.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics for England. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, but not staff working in primary care, local authorities or other providers.
The following table shows the reasons recorded for midwives leaving the National Health Service in England, as at 1 April in each year between 2013-2018 and the first two quarters of 2018-19, headcount:
Reason for Leaving | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 First two quarters |
Total | 2,912 | 2,996 | 2,956 | 2,858 | 2,782 | 1,497 |
Of which |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dismissal | 77 | 88 | 69 | 79 | 69 | 38 |
End of Fixed Term Contract | 43 | 34 | 52 | 53 | 46 | 13 |
Flexi Retirement | 141 | 143 | 150 | 195 | 165 | 86 |
Mutually Agreed Resignation - Local Scheme with Repayment | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Mutually Agreed Resignation - Local Scheme without Repayment | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mutually Agreed Resignation - National Scheme with Repayment | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Others | 370 | 346 | 127 | 28 | 26 | 13 |
Redundancy - Compulsory | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Redundancy - Voluntary | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
Retirement - Ill Health | 30 | 29 | 31 | 39 | 29 | 8 |
Retirement Age | 523 | 586 | 603 | 578 | 592 | 297 |
Voluntary Early Retirement - no Actuarial Reduction | 45 | 41 | 63 | 56 | 43 | 22 |
Voluntary Early Retirement - with Actuarial Reduction | 28 | 36 | 27 | 31 | 34 | 12 |
Voluntary Resignation - Adult Dependants | 13 | 8 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 4 |
Voluntary Resignation - Better Reward Package | 25 | 39 | 19 | 16 | 42 | 12 |
Voluntary Resignation - Child Dependants | 58 | 49 | 45 | 46 | 33 | 36 |
Voluntary Resignation - Health | 44 | 34 | 54 | 75 | 66 | 43 |
Voluntary Resignation - Incompatible Working Relationships | 14 | 13 | 16 | 12 | 15 | 13 |
Voluntary Resignation - Lack of Opportunities | 22 | 25 | 14 | 21 | 20 | 11 |
Voluntary Resignation - Other/Not Known | 524 | 500 | 557 | 505 | 442 | 237 |
Voluntary Resignation - Promotion | 86 | 113 | 102 | 110 | 120 | 69 |
Voluntary Resignation - Relocation | 563 | 560 | 598 | 605 | 628 | 355 |
Voluntary Resignation - To undertake further education or training | 83 | 71 | 71 | 44 | 46 | 42 |
Voluntary Resignation - Work Life Balance | 225 | 287 | 344 | 355 | 353 | 190 |
NHS Improvement is leading a direct support programme to work with trusts with the highest attrition rates to identify improvements and improve retention to close the supply gap.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
o ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what correspondence he has received from (a) local authorities in Staffordshire and (b) the Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust on the future of the North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare Trust; and if he will place a copy of such correspondence in the Library.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The Department has received one item of relevant correspondence from a local authority in Staffordshire, which is attached. There has been no correspondence from the Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust on the future of the North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare Trust.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he last met the Chair of the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Sustainability and Transformation Partnership; and when he is next scheduled to meet that chair.
Answered by Steve Barclay
My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care last met with the Chair of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, Sir Neil McKay, on 18 December 2017.
The Secretary of State was due to meet Sir Neil McKay on Tuesday 26 June, but this has had to be rescheduled due to diary pressures. However, the Secretary of State will meet Sir Neil McKay on 27 June alongside the Rt. hon. member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller). This is a follow-up roundtable meeting from one held on 7 March (which Sir Neil McKay also attended).
I will be meeting with the Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) Chair, Sir Neil McKay, and local system partners to discuss the STP on Thursday 28 June 2018.