Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase financial support for nursing associates who wish to become registered nurses.

We have a complete apprentice pathway for nursing, from entry level to postgraduate advanced clinical practice. Nursing associates can go on to become registered nurses through a degree apprenticeship, allowing people to earn a salary while gaining a nursing qualification.

Nursing associates can also become registered nurses by completing a shortened undergraduate nursing degree. For those taking this route, the NHS Learning Support Fund provides eligible students with a non-repayable training grant of a minimum of £5,000 per academic year. The Government keeps the funding arrangements for all healthcare students under close review. The Government attempts to strike a balance between ensuring students are financially supported during their studies and delivering maximum value for money for the taxpayer.

Training and retaining talented National Health Service staff is absolutely central to our mission of rebuilding a health service that is fit for the future. Our 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS will establish how to train and provide the staff the NHS needs, including nurses, to care for patients across our communities. This summer we will also publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade.