AQW 11572/17-22

Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry

Tabled Date: 04/12/2020
Answered On Date: 17/12/2020
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health to detail (i) the reason for medical and dental students from Northern Ireland receiving reduced financial support in the form of grants, loans and bursaries in the final two years of a five or six year course; (ii) how these students are expected to cover living costs, especially with increased studying hours during these years of study; and (iii) whether she accepts that, while the NHS pays these students’ fees during these final years, this does not help them survive financially in the short term.

Answer:

I can respond as follows:

Health and student finance are devolved matters. The financial support available to medical and dental students varies across the regions of the UK depending upon where they are ordinarily resident. Policy reflects the resources available to each healthcare administration, their view how best to direct these resources, and assessment of workforce supply priorities.

Students may be able to access a maintenance loan and travel grant, according to individual circumstances, through the Student Loans Company

In considering the appropriateness of this Department’s support for students, I think it relevant to note that there are very low rates of attrition out of these heavily oversubscribed medicine and dentistry programmes.