The Government has cut funding for nursing courses in a move that risks undermining its pledge to end the NHS’s reliance on foreign workers.

Ministers have quietly frozen grants that are paid to universities to help them cover the higher costs of training medical workers.

Critics reacted by warning that the move, which represents a real-terms cut, would “worsen an already difficult situation” in the sector and “leave us more reliant” on imported labour.

It will also prompt fears of further cuts down the line, with education set to be one of the losers in Rachel Reeves’s spending review this week.

Universities are already struggling to keep nursing courses afloat, with research showing that many are cutting lecturer jobs to save cash.

In last year’s manifesto, Labour pledged to “end the long-term reliance on overseas workers” with a “workforce and training plan” for the NHS.

However, Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, has now frozen grants which are paid to universities to cover the extra costs of running medical courses.

Those include courses for nursing, midwifery and “allied health professionals” such as paramedics, radiographers and occupational therapists.