Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of replacing the NHS Bursary for medical students with access to the NHS Learning Support Fund.

We have no plans to make a specific assessment. From year five of an undergraduate course and from year two of a graduate-entry course, medical students can access the non-repayable NHS Bursary. This comprises payment for tuition fees, a non-means-tested grant and a further means-tested award. Students eligible for the NHS Bursary can also apply for a reduced rate non-means tested maintenance loan for living costs from Student Finance England.