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The ¹úÄÚ¾«Æ·ÒÁÈ˾þþþø¾ is urging the Chancellor Rachel Reeves to act at the autumn budget and provide better financial support to nursing students. Since 2021, the number of people in the UK applying to study nursing at university has fallen by 34%. Many nursing students are now forced to take on debt, skip meals or even turn to food banks to survive.

The petition calls for all four UK governments to take urgent action, and was signed by thousands of people from across the country. It highlights the urgent need to fix the broken student nursing finance system by undertaking an immediate review of the current financial support available in all four countries. The overall funding allocation which is used to provide student financial support in each of the UK nations is decided by the chancellor.

The crisis in nursing student financial support was debated at ¹úÄÚ¾«Æ·ÒÁÈ˾þþþø¾ Congress in June 2025, with members unanimously backing a motion by the ¹úÄÚ¾«Æ·ÒÁÈ˾þþþø¾ Students Committee. We then launched a petition calling for action by governments across the UK.

Since then, we have been calling on members to sign this petition as well as submitting written evidence to the chancellor ahead of the UK budget, that will take place on 26 November. Our evidence showed the cost effectiveness of writing off student debt in exchange for newly registered nursing staff working for the NHS or public care service for a set period. Both loan forgiveness and increased financial support are critical to attracting future generations of talented and dedicated nurses.

Nursing students have also been making their voices heard to health system leaders at two ¹úÄÚ¾«Æ·ÒÁÈ˾þþþø¾ engagement sessions with Deputy Chief Nursing Officer for England, Acosia Nyanin.

The most recent event saw students speak to Ms Nyanin about the unique pressures faced by nursing students who must complete 2,300 practice hours as well as 2,300 hours of academic study over the course of their programme. This causes undue financial hardship, due to little time being available for part-time work to supplement student financial support.

We will continue to engage with the Westminster government ahead of the budget to protect the future of nursing before it’s too late.

There are lots of ways to get involved in the ¹úÄÚ¾«Æ·ÒÁÈ˾þþþø¾ as a nursing student, including supporting our campaigns, becoming a student ambassador and attending events for student members. Find out more here.