MPs call for student maintenance grants and suggest 'minimum income' for struggling uni learners
A cross-party group of MPs have called for a 'minimum income' for students that rises with inflation and the restoration of maintenance grants.
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The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Students, led by Labour MP Alex Sobel, has called for the changes to be made to tackle what it calls a 'crisis point' for student poverty.
The group today released a Commission on Students in Higher Education report in conjunction with the National Union of Students which called for the changes to be made during this Parliament.
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Among the recommendations are a call for a reintroduction of maintenance grants which were scrapped in favour of loans during the Tory-Lib Dem coalition Government in 2010.
These grants should also rise in line with inflation each year, the group says as it also called for a review to how the current amounts of maintenance is determined.
Currently, household income is used to determine the level of money that a student requires.
Alex Sobel MP, Chair of the APPG on Students and Labour MP for Leeds Central and Headingly, said: “Student poverty levels are at crisis point after decades of failed funding arrangements for higher education.
"Students are often forced to exist on incomes that do not come anywhere near to covering the basics.
"It's clear that an urgent change in approach is needed to ensure that those studying at university and college have a decent standard of living rather than one of abject poverty.
"That's why a minimum student income linked to the living wage that rises with inflation must be introduced early in this parliament, alongside the restoration of the maintenance grant.”
It also says that the repayment threshold for student loans should be changed so that graduates pay a progressively larger proportion of their income as they earn more.
The Commission suggests that students should pay 2% on earnings between £12,570-£27,570 up to 8% of earnings of £57,571 or more.
It claims this system would cost the Government the same amount while helping to eliminate a system it considers unfair to those on lower incomes.
The report 'urgent challenges' facing universities today, as well as proposing solutions based on over 30 written submissions from students’ unions, universities, sector bodies, and individual experts.
Responding to the publication of the report, Alex Stanley, Vice President (Higher Education) of the National Union of Students (NUS), and Saranya Thambirajah, NUS Vice President (Liberation and Equality) said: “We are pleased to launch the Commission on Students in Higher Education, authored by the APPG for Students.
"The Commission rightly highlights the concerning decline in the student experience, noting the normalisation of crisis within the sector.
"It speaks to the issues that students across the board are facing with regard to access and outcomes, teaching quality, and maintenance support, whilst also correctly pointing out that these challenges are felt on a deeper level by marginalised students."
"NUS welcomes the policy recommendations of the Commission as a necessary set of steps to ensure that students can thrive in what are often the most formative years of their lives.
"To this end, it’s vital that the government proactively engages with this report and we remain committed to working constructively together to ensure the voices and needs of students are truly reflected in policy.”
Rose Stephenson, Director of Policy & Advocacy, Higher Education Policy Institute said: "Students are clear about what works: relevant skills for the workplace, timely and personalised feedback, and flexible course structures that reflect the realities of their lives.
"Many institutions have evolved to offer high-quality digital access and smart scheduling in response to the new realities of student life; those who haven’t risk being left behind. As institutions adapt to the changing student landscape, they need the support of the government, through rhetoric and funding, to continue to develop the knowledge economy and workforce of the future.”