The government’s decision to remove funding for Level 7 apprenticeships for people aged 22 and older undermines its own ambition to shift care from hospitals to the community, nursing leaders have warned.
The Department for Education announced the move, due to be implemented in January 2026, as part of a shake-up that will see apprentice levy funding ‘rebalanced towards training at lower levels, where it can have the greatest impact’.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: ‘When we invest in skills for young people, we invest in a shared, stronger economic future.’
Level 7 apprenticeships, which are equivalent to a master’s degree, are often accessed by older people or those who are already hold other qualifications.
They currently cover the following specialisms:
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- Adult Social Care Nursing
- Community Children’s Nursing
- Community Mental Health Nursing
- District Nursing
- General Practice Nursing
- Inclusion Health Nursing
- Health and Justice Nursing
- Community Learning Disability Nursing
- Palliative and End of Life Care Nursing
Under the government’s plans, Level 7 apprenticeships will be moved outside the scope of levy funding for those aged 22 and over, with individual businesses being required to fund it themselves.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said the decision to remove Level 7 funding would shut off an important career route for nursing staff.
‘Today’s announcement from the education secretary not only shuts off an important career route for staff but also undermines the government’s own ambition to shift care from hospitals to the community,’ said Professor Nicola Ranger, RCN general secretary and chief executive today.
‘Making it more difficult for employers to fund training and education for advanced clinical specialist nursing roles makes little sense.’
Professor Ranger pointed out that many employers depend on the apprenticeship levy to fund leadership, specialist and advanced nursing education.
‘Without this funding, employers will not be able to cover the costs and even more critical nursing roles, in areas such as community, district and mental health nursing, will be left unfilled,’ she said.
‘If the UK Government wants to transform care and address the nursing workforce crisis, restricting the ability of people to become advanced clinical specialists and leaders is the last thing it should be doing,’ Professor Ranger added.
The apprenticeship levy is paid by large employers with a pay bill of over £3m.
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Currently, 2% of employers pay the levy, which is set at a rate of 0.5% of their total annual pay bill, and every employer who pays the levy has a digital account where they can access their levy funds to spend on apprenticeship training.
The funding generated also funds apprenticeship training for other employers who want to take on apprentices. Smaller employers whose total annual pay bill is less than £3m pay just 5% of the cost of their apprenticeship training and the government pays the rest.
The government said it would maintain support for those aged 16-21 and existing Level 7 apprentices.
Dr Crystal Oldman, chief executive of the Queen’s Institute of Community Nursing (QICN), urged the government to ‘urgently set out their plan to mitigate the impact of this change to the funding’.
‘Without the support for these vital training programmes, it will be impossible for the government to realise the ambition of more care to be delivered in the community, including end of life care – the core work of the district nursing service,’ she said.
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‘The nursing leadership of the QICN now stands prepared to work with the government to develop their solution to this situation, as I am sure other nurse leaders in England will be too.’
Dr Oldman pointed to the findings of Nuffield Trust research – unveiled at a QICN event in the House of Lords last week – which suggested the number of district nurses working in the NHS in England has fallen by 43% between 2009 and 2024.
The planned Level 7 apprenticeship funding cuts were first mooted by the Prime Minister last year – with those among the nursing profession warning the move could majorly impact specialist nurse training and undermine the long-term workforce plan.
