Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that maintenance loans are available to all students.

Eligible full-time students attending full-time undergraduate higher education courses qualify for maintenance loans. All such students, regardless of their income, qualify for a minimum loan with additional support for disadvantaged students.

For the current academic year, 2018/19, students on family incomes of £25,000 or less who are living away from the parental home and studying outside London qualify for a maintenance loan of £8,700, increasing to £8,944 for the 2019/20 academic year. Higher rates of loan are available for students living away from home and studying in London.

Since August 2018, new students attending part-time degree level courses have also qualified for partially means-tested maintenance loans. Information on student support for undergraduate students, including maintenance loans, can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/get-undergraduate-student-loan.

The government’s review of post-18 education and funding is looking at how we can ensure that the education system for those aged 18 years and over is accessible to all. The review’s focus includes how disadvantaged students and learners receive maintenance support, both from government and from universities and colleges.