Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the removal of bursaries for undergraduate nurses on the number of people choosing to study nursing.

The NHS Long Term Plan, published 7 January 2019, sets out a vital strategic framework to ensure that over the next 10 years the National Health Service will have the staff it needs so that nurses have the time they need to care, working in a supportive culture that allows them to provide the expert compassionate care they are committed providing.

My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has commissioned Baroness Dido Harding, working closely with Sir David Behan, to lead a number of programmes to engage with key NHS interests to develop a detailed workforce implementation plan. These programmes will consider detailed proposals to grow the workforce, including consideration of additional staff and skills required, build a supportive working culture in the NHS and ensure first rate leadership for NHS staff.

The University and College Admissions Service end of cycle data, published in December 2018, shows that the demand for nursing and midwifery courses remained strong in 2018, with 22,200 acceptances to study nursing and midwifery at English providers in England.