Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department plans to provide to universities to meet the additional (a) educational workforce and (b) physical capacity requirements that will result from the increased number of students embarking on nursing degrees in the 2021-22 academic year.

We have asked the Office for Students (OfS) to reform the Strategic Priorities Grant for 2021/22 to ensure that more of taxpayers’ money is spent on supporting higher education provision which aligns with national priorities. This includes the reprioritisation of funding towards the provision of high-cost subjects that support the NHS and wider healthcare policy (which includes nursing), high-cost STEM subjects, and subjects meeting specific labour market needs.

Specifically on capital funding, we want to be assured that capital funding is adding real value and that investment is focused on key government priorities, such as nursing, and supports provision with excellent student outcomes.

In 2021/22, this funding will be allocated through a bidding process that will target specific high-impact projects and activities that offer better value for money for students and taxpayers.

The OfS has launched a public consultation on all these reforms before final allocations for 2021/22 are confirmed and will carefully consider the impact of any changes on providers.

The consultation can be accessed at https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/consultations/.