New nursing students in England to get £5,000 a year grant

All nursing students starting degree courses in September 2020 will receive a £5,000 a year grant, the Department of Health and Social Care has announced.

There has been a drop in the number of people taking nursing degrees, since grants for nurses were scrapped two years ago due to austerity measures by the government.

The £5,000 grant will not need to be repaid and is part of the government’s manifesto commitment to boost nurse numbers by 50,000 by 2025.

There will be also be up to £3,000 available for students in regions or specialisms struggling to recruit nursing staff or to help students cover childcare costs.

The government has also pledged to carry out an urgent review into doctors’ pensions taper problem.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “I have heard loud and clear that the priority of the British people is to focus on the NHS – and to make sure this treasured institution has everything it needs to deliver world-class care.

“The dedicated doctors and nurses epitomise everything that makes the NHS so revered across the world – skill, compassion, energy and dedication.

“At the heart of our manifesto was the guarantee that we will deliver 50,000 more nurses, and this new financial support package is a crucial part of delivering this.”

The government hopes the move will encourage school leavers to opt for a nursing degree as the new grant has been announced ahead of the UCAS deadline for university applications on 15 January 2020.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock added: “The NHS is there for all of us in our time of need, thanks to the skill, dedication and compassion of its staff. I know from my Grandma, who worked nights as a nurse, just how compassionate and hard-working our nurses are.

“As we enter the Year of the Nurse and Midwife, we are embarking on the biggest nursing recruitment drive in decades, backed by a new universal support package.”

Ruth May, chief nursing officer for England, called it "great news to see a strong commitment to our professions from government through additional financial support, which will help encourage the best and brightest to kick-start a career helping patients, learn new skills and experience all of life’s highs and lows in our NHS as a midwife or nurse".

The new package will supplement existing support available to pre-registration undergraduate and postgraduate nursing students from the Department of Health and Social Care, including travel and accommodation costs for clinical placements, funding for students facing financial hardship and childcare support.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) also welcomed the announcement but called for tuition fees to be scrapped for nurses in addition to the grant.

RCN chief executive and general secretary, Dame Donna Kinnair said: “With tens of thousands of vacant nurse jobs, serious measures are needed. This grant is a first victory for the campaign that our student nurses are running. The announcement will hopefully encourage more people to apply to a nursing degree by the mid-January deadline.

“In the run up to the Budget, we continue to call for our students to not pay tuition fees up-front. Any barriers for people wanting to enter nursing must be removed."

Students will still be able to continue to access funding for tuition and maintenance loans from the Student Loan Company.

The Department of Health and Social Care say the measures are part of the upcoming NHS People Plan which will set out work to reduce vacancies across the NHS and secure the staff needed for the future.