The NHS Learning Support fund (NHS LSF) provides additional funding for eligible pre-registration healthcare students who also have a student loan from Student Loans England (SLE).
It can be used to claim additional travel expenses and accommodation costs as a result of attending practice placements. Practice placements are the parts of your course which are supervised clinical practice.
The LSF is managed by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) student services.
Please note the NHS can change their policies during the year and whilst we will always aim to keep you up to date it is best to regularly check their website if you are uncertain about what you can claim.
You can claim travel to and from your placement location as long as the cost of your daily return is more than your usual return travel to university. Exceptions apply for those on Open University programmes run in partnership with Middlesex University.
If you are studying on one of the following programmes and meet the general eligibility criteria, you may be able to claim expenses for travel to practice placements.
If you have any questions, please check the NHS website or contact the NHS LSF team:
You are expected to travel by the cheapest form of transport available where it is reasonably practical to do so.
You can claim for using public transport (actual cost) or your own motor vehicle (mileage cost). You may be able to claim for the cost of a hire car but this must be agreed with Middlesex University beforehand. Parking/congestion charge/LEZ/tolls can also be reimbursed if evidence is provided. Taxi travel will not be reimbursed unless it can be shown to be for unexpected mitigating circumstances. A ‘letter of support’ from your Programme Leader will need to be submitted to confirm this, alongside your evidence.
Additional mileage costs may be claimed if you have to travel in the community to other Practice Placement sites or to patients’ home addresses and you are not given free transport by a tutor or mentor.
To claim for any travel appropriate evidence must be provided. What is required is laid out further down the page.
If you choose to travel to placements in your own vehicle, rather than using public transport, it is your responsibility to ensure that you have the correct level of insurance for all risks associated with its use. The reimbursement of the costs of travel by private motor vehicle does not constitute any acceptance of liability by your University, the NHSBSA or any other NHS body.
Further information on travel rates e.g. pence per mileage available.
If it is not possible / practical for you to travel to your placement each day from your normal term time address, you may be able to claim towards the cost of staying in temporary accommodation near to your placement site. Your must only claim the cheapest accommodation available to you.
This evidence must be a receipt, an invoice or on company headed paper. If you are not able to provide the required evidence your claim will not be reimbursed.
Please note, if you stay with your parent/s in their home just for the purpose of attending your placement, reimbursement of accommodation costs will not be made.
Further information on dual accommodation costs is available on the NHS BSA website.
Journey | Cost of daily return journey |
|---|---|
Travel from term time address to University/normal place of study | £5.75 |
Travel from term time address to practice placement site | £9.00 |
Student A can claim reimbursement of £3.25 per day (£9.00 less £5.75) towards their placement travel costs for the duration of this placement.
This is because it costs more to travel to placement than it does to get to University.
Journey | Cost of daily return journey |
|---|---|
Travel from term time address to University/normal place of study | £10 |
Travel from term time address to practice placement site | £8.50 |
Student B cannot claim reimbursement towards their placement travel costs for this particular placement.
This is because it has not cost them more to travel to their placement then it does to travel to University.
Please ensure that you submit your expenses claim no later than 6 months after your last day of travel to your practice placement, otherwise you may not be able to claim your costs. We recommend submitting a claim after you have completed each placement.
To claim for travel expenses, you will need to:
Please do not upload bank statements/screenshots of banking apps.
Driving
Parking Costs and Tolls:
Please provide the paper tickets or.pdf e-receipts from parking and toll apps/websites. These are what are required by the NHS. Please do not provide screenshots of the parking or toll apps as these are not sufficient.
Taxi/Other:
Taxis must only be used in unexpected, mitigating circumstances. You must provide clear paper receipts or .pdf e-receipts from taxi apps/website that clearly show the date, the route/journey taken and the cost of the journey. As per the NHS guidance, you should provide a ‘letter of support’ from your Programme Leader alongside your evidence, confirming that due to the circumstances this was the only way to travel to your placement.
Public Transport
Oyster/Contactless:
You are required to upload the Payment Statement.pdf.
Paper Tickets/Paper Travelcards:
You must provide clear scans/photos of the tickets and if necessary purchase receipts. It must be clear from the images the date, type of ticket purchased (journey route or zones) and the cost of purchase.
Wherever possible, please combine all receipts into ONE document. This will speed up the processing of your claim.
We have created a number of downloadable guides to help with any further queries you might have:
The NHS have produced a Completing your TDAE claim booklet which guides you through the claiming process. We recommend using this guide when completing your claim to ensure you have provided the correct details. Please note, please refer to the guidance on this page on how to submit a claim rather than the guidance in the booklet.
