PETITIONOpenPetition · petition.parliament.uk
Reform nurse education funding, cancel debt & reinstate bursaries
Abolish tuition fees for nurse training, reinstate the NHS nursing bursary, and forgive existing student loan debt for nurses working in the NHS.
Last fetched 03 May 2026 · petition.parliament.uk
Signatures
531
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 531/10,000
Debate threshold (100,000) · 531/100,000
Background
Newly qualified nurses in England often graduate with over £60,000 of debt. Research by the the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and London Economics suggests that forgiving nurse student debt could retain nurses 7–10 years longer and save the NHS over £1bn. We believe that the current funding model dissuades people from entering nursing and worsens staff shortages.