Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a (a) tuition fee remission and (b) loan-forgiveness scheme for students who commit to a period of service in the NHS following graduation.

The Government has no current plans to pay loan instalments for healthcare students or to write off student loan debt in exchange for service in the National Health Service.

The Government keeps the funding arrangements for students under close review and must make sure that finite financial resources are balanced with the level of support students require. This ensures that we make the best use of public funds to deliver value for money.

The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.