§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what factors underlie his decision that medical and dental students should pay £4,000 tuition fees. [20095]
§ Dr. HowellsI have been asked to reply.
Like other full-time undergraduate students, medical and dental students will pay £1,000 a year towards tuition fees only if they come from higher-income families. Dependent students from lower-income families will pay no fees at all, while those from middle-income families will contribute less than £1,000 a year.
It would be unfair to exempt all medical and dental students, including those who came from better-off families, from contributing towards their tuition fees during the first four years of their study when other students on four-year first degree courses would be required to contribute. Medical and dental students will, however, have fees for their fifth and subsequent years of study paid for them in recognition of the State's particular interest in securing a continued supply of qualified health-care professionals.