Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with officials in the Department for Education on steps to support student nurses.

We are working closely with NHS England, the Department for Education, and universities, to ensure everyone who wants to pursue a rewarding healthcare career in nursing, has the support and opportunities to do so.

To support students training in clinical roles, we provide eligible students with a grant of at least £5,000 a year through the NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF). This includes additional incentives for priority specialisms, such as mental health, with further funding available depending on personal circumstances. The Government continues to widen access to nursing careers through blended learning and apprenticeship routes. Apprenticeships provide an alternative route for people to earn as they learn and we now have a complete apprentice pathway for nursing, from entry level to postgraduate advanced clinical practice.

The number of applicants to nursing degrees continues to outstrip the places on offer. Nursing training places are competitive, and lead to an attractive and important career in the National Health Service. There are record numbers of nurses now working in the NHS, and the first ever NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, backed by over £2.4 billion, will add 24,000 more nurse and midwifery training places by 2031.