AQW 18294/17-22

Mr Stewart Dickson
Alliance Party
East Antrim

Tabled Date: 04/05/2021
Answered On Date: 24/06/2021
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health (i) for her assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on competition for medicine and dentistry places at local universities; and (ii) whether she will seek to work with the Minister of Health to expand place numbers to ensure that students applying this year are not adversely impacted.

Answer:

My Department has been working closely with Queen’s University Belfast in relation to its medical and dental courses.

I can confirm that up to 50 additional places will be offered for the undergraduate Medicine course at QUB, for the 2021 intake. This is to address the impact of COVID-19 on A-level students following the Education Minister’s announcement in 2020 that NI A-level students would receive the higher grade of either their Centre Assessed Grade, or the grade provided to them by CCEA.

No additional places will be provided on the Dentistry course.