Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to extend the NHS Bursary to trainee doctors from low-income backgrounds to include the final two years of training to help ensure completion of their medical course.

We have no specific plans to do so. From year five of an undergraduate course and from year two of a graduate-entry course, 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 from low-income backgrounds typically qualify for a larger means tested maintenance award. An additional hardship grant is available where they may be eligible to claim a sum between £100 and £3,000, depending on current financial circumstances.