Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria she considers when setting student maintenance loan thresholds.

The loan for living costs is a contribution towards a student’s living costs while attending university, with the highest levels of support for students who need it most.

The government recognises the impact that the cost-of-living crisis has had on students. All funding decisions must be carefully balanced to ensure the system targets students who need support the most, while also making it sustainable.

The government has increased maximum loans for living costs for full-time and part-time undergraduate students by 3.1% for the 2025/26 academic year. A 3.1% increase is in line with forecast inflation based on the RPIX inflation index.