Nursing student bursaries data: FOI release

Information requested

• How many bursaries for nursing students were unclaimed in Scotland during 2023-2024?
• How much were these unclaimed bursaries worth in total?
• Where has this funding been reallocated and/or where is it being spent elsewhere?

Response

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested.

The reasons why we don't have the information are explained below.

This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested for points 1 and 2.

The Scottish Government does not collect this specific information around why a student would not claim a bursary. This information is not captured within the data that is readily available as it is not required for monitoring purposes. We would be unable to provide the requested information as there are a number of reasons why students may not claim or be ineligible to claim the bursary.

For your third point, the Scottish Government provides budget to fully fund bursaries for all eligible nursing students recognising that this is a demand led budget which is funded regardless of how many bursaries are claimed. Budget is earmarked at the start of the financial year, and forecasted in line with the student intake targets which are typically set annually, to aid planning and should demand fall below planning assumptions, the budget will be reallocated to support other priorities within Health and Social Care.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.