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Medicine: Student Wastage

Asked by Alex BrewerLiberal DemocratDepartment for EducationTabled Answered 8 September 2026UIN 24681

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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many medical students have (a) suspended and (b) withdrawn from their courses in each of the last five academic years where financial pressures were cited as a reason.

Answered by Department for Education

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

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