The Government has frozen grants paid to universities for nursing courses, effectively imposing a real-terms cut that critics say undermines Labour's manifesto pledge to reduce the NHS's dependence on overseas workers.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has maintained per-student funding at last year's levels for courses including nursing, midwifery and allied health professions such as paramedics and radiographers.
The freeze forms part of a £108million reduction in the Strategic Priorities Grant this year.
Labour had promised in its manifesto to "end the long-term reliance on overseas workers" through a comprehensive workforce and training plan for the NHS.
The Government has frozen grants paid to universities for nursing courses, effectively imposing a real-terms cut that critics say undermines Labour's manifesto pledge to reduce the NHS's dependence on overseas workers
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Universities have raised concerns claiming they are already struggling financially, with many cutting lecturer positions to reduce costs.
Patricia Marquis, executive director for the Royal College of Nursing in England, warned that the funding freeze "could make a bad situation worse, resulting in not only more job losses, but impacting the very financial viability of nursing courses".
She described university courses as "the single biggest route into the profession" and called the potential impact "a disaster".
Universities UK chief executive Vivienne Stern said the cuts, combined with recent reductions to apprenticeship funding, would have a "detrimental impact on training our healthcare workforce".
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Shadow education secretary Laura Trott accused Labour of not being 'serious about cutting immigration'
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She said: "We can't create a future-proof NHS workforce without long-term, sustained investment from the government."
Shadow education secretary Laura Trott accused Labour of not being "serious about cutting immigration", arguing the decisions would "leave us more reliant on foreign labour, when we should be training British people for British jobs".
The Department for Education faces significant real-terms cuts when Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveils her spending review on Wednesday, with higher education expected to bear a burden.
Health and defence are set to be the primary beneficiaries of the spending allocations, which will determine departmental budgets through to nearly the end of the decade.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveils her spending review on Wednesday
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Within education, the school's budget remains ring-fenced and cannot be reduced, whilst early years provision represents a key Labour commitment with plans for 100,000 new nursery places.
This leaves universities and apprenticeships particularly vulnerable to cuts.
A Government spokesman defended the decision.
They stated they had "prioritised Strategic Priorities Grant funding for important, high-cost courses, including nursing and midwifery" whilst acknowledging the need for "tough decisions" given the inherited financial situation.
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