INCREASED university tuition fees will fuel the midwife staffing crisis, the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has warned.

The Labour Party has faced criticism for raising fees to £9,535 in England next year.

Sir Keir Starmer supported abolishing them during his leadership campaign in 2020.

But Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson announced on Monday that undergraduate tuition fees — which have been frozen at £9,250 since 2017 — would rise in line with inflation from 2025-26.

She said maximum maintenance loans would also rise to help students with living costs.

But increasing numbers of students are already leaving their midwifery courses before completion because they cannot afford to continue, according to a recent RCM report.

RCM’s director of professional midwifery Fiona Gibb said: “The cost of education is a big hurdle for aspiring midwives and this financial strain can make potential applicants think twice.” 

Today, Health Secretary Wes Streeting claimed the rise is a “proportionate and reasonable thing” to do.