Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Health of 9 May 2018, Official Report, column 844, whether the £9.1 million in golden hellos to postgraduate students in specific hard-to-recruit disciplines such mental health, learning and disability, and district nursing will be made available to applicants for the 2018-19 academic year.
Answer
Further to the announcement of 9 May, the Government is considering the most effective way to implement the ‘golden hello’ incentive scheme for postgraduate nursing students.
These payment incentives offer £10,000 to future postgraduates who completed courses funded by loans in the 2018/19 academic year. The golden hello payments are anticipated to be contingent on these graduates working in specific fields of the health and care sector including mental health, learning disability and community, including district, nursing.
The detail of the scheme is being developed by the Department. Officials will engage with stakeholders as part of finalising proposals; including determining whether it is in the best interests of the National Health Service to split out the numbers eligible for a payment determined by branch of nursing. The conclusions of this will inform assessments of the potential impact of such incentives.
Our cost projections were based on current numbers, and if the number of students increases we will consider how best to implement the incentives to continue meeting objectives to fill hard-to-recruit places.