Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to offer additional financial support for trainee nurses and paramedics to tackle staff shortages and alleviate the burden on the NHS.

The Department has no such current plans. Since September 2020, the Department has made available a new, non-repayable, training grant of at least £5,000 per academic year for eligible nursing and paramedicine students through the NHS Learning Support Fund (NHS LSF). In addition, the NHS LSF provides for an additional parental support allowance of £2,000 per academic year to help eligible students with childcare costs. NHS LSF funding is a supplementary source of financial support for eligible students in addition to maintenance and tuition fee loans provided by the Student Loans Company.