Petition · Department of Health and Social Care
Reform nurse education funding, cancel debt & reinstate bursaries
Closed
651 signatures
What the petition asks
Abolish tuition fees for nurse training, reinstate the NHS nursing bursary, and forgive existing student loan debt for nurses working in the NHS.
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.
Timeline
| 22 Dec 2025 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 22 Jun 2026 | Closed to new signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
651
Status
Closed
Department
Department of Health and Social Care
Opened
22 Dec 2025
Closed
22 Jun 2026
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 3 Aug 2026.