Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the 23 per cent decline in UCAS applications for nursing degrees in 2017; and if he will make a statement.

Potential students have a range of reasons for making the choices they do regarding courses to apply for.

At this stage of the application cycle, based on the data the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service published on 2 February 2017, Health Education England is confident that the National Health Service will be able to fill the number of 2017/18 pre-registration nursing degree training places in England. Entry to nursing, midwifery and allied health profession remains extremely competitive with a ratio from applications this January of nearly two applicants per place, this shows that there is a strong market for students who want to study high-quality nursing degree.

The Government is committed to monitoring the reforms throughout the application process and in doing so is working with Health Education England, Universities UK and the Council of Deans of Health to ensure that students are aware of the benefits of studying to become a nurse.