Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to provide financial support to working class students on degree courses which last longer than three years.

Tuition fee loans and maintenance loans are available to undergraduate students for the full length of their courses, including those lasting for four years or more. Support available to those students with the lowest household incomes was increased by over 10% in the 2016/17 Academic Year.

Non-repayable support is also available to students with children or adult dependants, and to students with a disability or specific learning difficulty.

Widening participation in higher education remains a priority for this government. Entry rates to higher education for young people in the most disadvantaged groups have risen to the highest rates on record. The proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds entering higher education is up from 13.6% in 2009 to 18.5% in 2015. The latest data for entry in 2016 shows that the application rate for 18 year olds from disadvantaged backgrounds is at a record level.