§ Mr. FearnTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how the bursaries allocated to student nurses under Project 2000 will be administered; and whether they will be administered regionally or centrally;
(2) what is the anticipated amount of the bursary for a student nurse enrolling when the Project 2000 reform of nurse education is introduced;
(3) how many bursaries he intends to make available by region under the Project 2000 nursing education reforms; and if he will list them;
(4) whether, where student nurses are enrolled under Project 2000 with 80 per cent. supernumerary status and a 20 per cent. service contribution, the bursary will cover 100 per cent. of costs.
§ Mr. MellorNo decisions have yet been made on the level of bursary to be offered to students undertaking project 2000-style training but we hope to make a statement shortly. In deciding the level of bursary we will need to have regard to the level of current student nurse salaries and the existing rules for mandatory student awards.
Initially, bursaries will be administered by those district health authorities selected to introduce project 2000 courses later this year. Arrangements for the longer term have yet to be determined.
Funding for project 2000 courses will be provided against carefully costed plans, and the examination of these plans will seek to identify all the necessary additional costs arising as a result of project 2000. It is not our intention in meeting these costs to allocate specific numbers of bursaries or a region by region basis on separately to identify particular aspects of the funding. The number of student nurses will continue to depend on health authorities' future demand for staff and the ability to recruit.