Scottish Government
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Review of bursary for student nurses and midwives
Funding must keep meeting needs of students, says Health Secretary
The Scottish Government is to review the student support package available to nursing and midwifery students with a view to ensuring that the process continues to be fair and reflects the needs of today’s students.
Currently the Nursing and Midwifery Student Bursary (NMSB) in Scotland provides all eligible students with a non-income assessed and non-repayable personal allowance of £6578 per year (excluding additional allowances).
Health Secretary Alex Neil yesterday announced the review to ensure the support package available can keep meeting the needs of our student nurses and midwives in Scotland.
He said: “Scotland’s support package for nursing and midwifery students remains distinctive – the core bursary is not means tested or repayable - in stark contrast to the position in England.
“Though we believe we offer a good package for students, it is extremely important that nursing and midwifery continues to be an attractive area of study for our Scottish students. We understand that much of this depends on the support we have in place for those studying.
“Our intention this year is to review the funding package available to nursing and midwifery students, to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of Scottish nursing and midwifery students.”
In addition to the core bursary, students also have access to a range of income assessed allowances including dependants, childcare, lone parents and disability allowances.
All students will continue to have their tuition fees paid in full.
