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Written question asked by Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat) on Friday, 28 August 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 2 September 2026. It was answered by Karin Smyth (Labour) on Tuesday, 8 September 2026 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Medicine: Student Wastage

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many medical students have (a) suspended and (b) withdrawn from their courses in each of the last five academic years where financial pressures were cited as a reason.

Answer

The Office for Students (OfS) publishes the number of intakes to medicine degrees each year, as well as withdrawals during the first year of the course. It does not publish reasons for withdrawal. The data is available at the following link:

https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-providers/finance-and-funding/medicine-and-dentistry-funding/data-on-medical-and-dental-intakes/

The Student Loans Company (SLC) publishes data on student withdrawals from higher education providers by domicile, academic year, and year of study for SLC-funded students. It does not publish the reason for withdrawal. The data is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/early-in-year-student-withdrawal-notifications-academic-year-201819-to-202425-up-to-31082025/early-in-year-student-withdrawal-notifications-academic-year-201819-to-202425-up-to-31082025#additional-information

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
24681
Session
2026-27
Transferred
Yes
Subjects
Medicine Student wastage
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk