Will the Minister make a statement on the total cost of training one midwife?
The table below sets out the following information for the academic years 2010/11 to 2018/19 and has been provided by Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW):
the number of midwifery training places commissioned,
the number of midwifery students that commenced the training programme
The number of midwifery students in receipt of an NHS Wales Bursary
The average NHS Bursary paid to students
The total cost of NHS Bursaries for student midwives
It is important to note the NHS Bursary arrangements changed for students commencing their studies in September 2012 from a non means tested scheme to a means tested scheme. The information for academic years 2012/13 and 2013/14 cover the period of change with students who commenced their studies prior to September 2012 remaining on the non means tested arrangements throughout the duration of their programmes of study.
the number of students identified as being in receipt of the NHS Bursary from 2014/15 onwards represents the total number of students across the three cohorts studying midwifery each year.
| Academic Year | Commissioned | Commenced | No. of students in receipt of bursary | Average cost of bursary | Total cost of bursary in each year |
| 2010/11 | 93 | 93 | Non-means tested bursary - All students entitled | £6,701 | £1,740,725 |
| 2011/12 | 81 | 81 | Non-means tested bursary - All students entitled | £6,701 | £1,809,408 |
| 2012/13 | 94 | 94 | Yrs 2&3 Non-means tested bursary. Yr 1 Means-tested = 93 students |
Non- means (£6,701) Means tested (£5,000) |
£1,592,008 |
| 2013/14 | 98 | 99 | Yr 3 Non-means tested bursary. Yr 1&2 Means-tested = 174 students |
Non- means (£6,701) Means tested (£5,000) |
£1,530,222 |
| 2014/15 | 94 | 95 | Means-tested bursary = 255 | £5,000 | £1,453,649 |
| 2015/16 | 94 | 95 | Means-tested bursary = 257 | £5,335 | £1,373,177 |
| 2016/17 | 94 | 95 | Means-tested bursary = 259 | £5,573 | £1,342,671 |
| 2017/18 | 134 | 135 | Means-tested bursary = 297 | £5,395 | £1,498,494 |
| 2018/19 | 134 | 133 | Means-tested bursary = 279 | £4,862 | Data not yet available |
The average cost to the NHS in Wales of employing a midwife on a full time basis in each of the last five years is shown below. The figures include enhancements, on-call payments and employers‘ costs.
2014 - £44,320.48
2015 - £42,729.73
2016 - £44,741.95
2017 - £44,890.27
2018 - £45,061.78
Please note, from 1 January 2015 to 31 March 2018 unsocial hours and on-call were not paid if staff were on sick leave.
Information about levels of financial hardship, which may be experienced by Welsh student midwives is held internally with the Universities and is not collated centrally.