Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) travel expenses and (b) other financial support are available to nursing students.

The Department for Education provides the primary funding support package for English domiciled students in higher education through the student loans system.

We want to remove the barriers to training in clinical roles like nursing, which is why in addition to student loans, the Department of Health and Social Care provides supplementary non-repayable grants via the NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF). Eligible nursing students receive a minimum of £5,000 in each academic year, with an additional £1,000 per academic year available for priority areas such as mental health nursing or learning disabilities nursing. Further financial support is also available for childcare, dual accommodation costs, and travel.

These funding arrangements are reviewed annually ahead of the start of each academic year.

The 10-Year Health Plan, published in July 2025, set out that we will help students overcome financial obstacles to learning. We are working with the NHS Business Services Authority to reform and modernise the process of supporting students with their placement expenses, including reducing delays to reimbursement of their placement travel and accommodation costs.