Mentions:
1: Lord Redesdale (LD - Life peer) the Minister can say whether Defra is looking at funding commitments for tree nurseries beyond the grants - Speech Link
2: Baroness Fookes (Con - Life peer) the various T-level qualifications clearly to make sure that they meet both the aspirations of the students - Speech Link
3: Lord Curry of Kirkharle (XB - Life peer) real concern, referenced in recommendation 56, is the inability of smaller businesses—SMEs—to access grants - Speech Link
4: Baroness Hamwee (LD - Life peer) Starkly, that is through illegal recruitment fees, loans taken to pay them from loan sharks and organised - Speech Link
5: Lord Douglas-Miller (Con - Life peer) closely with the horticultural industry to ensure that growers understand the full range of grants available - Speech Link
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Labour - Canterbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing non-repayable maintenance grants for higher education students from the least advantaged backgrounds.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The government believes that income contingent student loans are a fair and sensible way of financing higher education (HE). It is only right that those who benefit from the system should make a fair contribution to its costs. The government have continued to increase maximum loans and grants for living and other costs for undergraduate and postgraduate students each year, with a 2.8% increase for the 2023/24 academic year and a further 2.5% increase announced for 2024/25.
In addition, the government have frozen maximum tuition fees for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years. By 2024/25, maximum fees will have been frozen for seven successive years. The department believe that the current fee freeze achieves the best balance between ensuring that the system remains financially sustainable, offering good value for the taxpayer, and reducing debt levels for students in real terms.
The government understands the pressures people have been facing with the cost of living and has taken action to help. The government have already made £276 million of student premium and mental health funding available for the 2023/24 academic year to support successful outcomes for students including disadvantaged students.
The government have also made a further £10 million of support available to help student mental health and hardship funding for the 2023/24 academic year. This funding will complement the help universities are providing through their own bursary, scholarship and hardship support schemes. For the 2024/25 financial year, the government have increased the Student Premium (full-time, part-time, and disabled premium) by £5 million to reflect high demand for hardship support. Further details of this allocation for the academic year 2024/25 will be announced by the Office for Students in the summer.
Overall, support to households to help with the high cost of living is worth £108 billion over 2022/23 to 2024/25, which is an average of £3,800 per UK household. The government believes this will have eased the pressure on family budgets, which will in turn enable many families to provide additional support to their children in HE to help them meet increased living costs.
Apr. 17 2024
Source Page: Immigration Rules archive: 11 March 2024 to 3 April 2024Found: which grants are paid under the Education Orders as defined in the Education and Libraries (Northern
Apr. 12 2024
Source Page: Immigration Rules archive: 10 April 2024 to 10 April 2024Found: students at degree level, ensures that such students are registered with the UK degree awarding body
Apr. 12 2024
Source Page: Immigration Rules archive: 10 April 2024 to 10 April 2024Found: students at degree level, ensures that such students are registered with the UK degree awarding body
Apr. 12 2024
Source Page: Immigration Rules archive: 4 April 2024 to 9 April 2024Found: students at degree level, ensures that such students are registered with the UK degree awarding body
Apr. 04 2024
Source Page: First Minister and Net Zero Secretary attendance at Cop28 in the United Arab Emirates: FOI releaseFound: First Minister and Net Zero Secretary attendance at Cop28 in the United Arab Emirates: FOI release
Apr. 03 2024
Source Page: Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills meeting with Edinburgh University Principal: FOI releaseFound: Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills meeting with Edinburgh University Principal: FOI release
Mar. 28 2024
Source Page: UK Space Agency-Axiom Space astronaut mission projects 2024/2025Found: of research paid for using taxpayer funded grants; hosting science and research communication events
Mar. 28 2024
Source Page: National Islands Plan Annual Report 2023Found: Student Retention aims to encourage students to remain in Scotland (and rural locations/move to islands