Following the Council’s attendance at Labour Party conference, our CEO, Ed Hughes, has responded to the reintroduction of maintenance grants funded by an international student levy as announced at the conference:

“The Council welcomes the reintroduction of student maintenance grants for some students in England. This will offer needed assistance to those eligible while supporting the recruitment and retention of students who will make up our future NHS and social care workforce. Healthcare students are often drawn from less advantaged backgrounds and too often struggle to make ends meet. The demands of very intensive year-round programmes with significant time spent on clinical placements make it difficult for students on some health courses to work to help pay for their studies.

However, funding the maintenance grant via a levy on international students is only likely to exacerbate the significant financial challenges faced by our universities and colleges which are essential to developing future healthcare professionals, their viability should be of critical concern to a government committed to fixing the NHS.

Maintaining a thriving education sector will be crucial to delivering government aims set out in the 10 Year Health Plan for England and new ambitions such as NHS Online where nurses, paramedics and others will have a role to play. We continue to call for a cross-government approach to ensure a joined-up pipeline through education into practice and research.”