Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment has she made of the adequacy of financial support available to university students.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government needs to ensure that the student funding system is financially sustainable, and funding arrangements are reviewed each year.
We are increasing loans for living costs each year in line with forecast inflation with students from the lowest income families receiving the largest year-on-year cash increases in support. Maximum loans for living costs will increase by 2.71% for the 2026/27 academic year.
We are also reintroducing maintenance grants of up to £1,000 per year for full-time students from low-income households studying courses aligned with the government’s missions and Industrial Strategy from the 2028/29 academic year.
The department will also provide extra support for care leavers, some of the most vulnerable in our society, who will automatically become eligible to receive the maximum rates of loans for living costs from the 2026/27 academic year.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether regional cost-of-living variations will be factored into proposed maintenance grant calculations.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government recognises the impact that cost-of-living pressures are having on students. This is why we are reintroducing means-tested maintenance grants from the 2028/29 academic year, providing students with up to £1,000 extra support each year, regardless of their location. We will also increase maintenance loans by 2.71% in 2026/27, bringing maximum amounts to £14,135 for students living away from home and studying in London, £10,830 for students living away from home and studying outside London and £9,118 for students living at home.
We are developing options to address regional disparities in entering higher education for disadvantaged students through a new Access and Participation Task and Finish Group, chaired by Professor Kathryn Mitchell, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Derby. We are also working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to encourage universities to collaborate with local authorities on strategic approaches to meeting student housing needs.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what percentage of undergraduate students who are parents with caring responsibilities receive the Childcare Grant.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The number of full-time undergraduates domiciled in England who received the Childcare Grant in 2024/25 was 42,900, rounded to the nearest hundred. This is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/student-support-for-higher-education-in-england-2025/student-support-for-higher-education-in-england-2025#childcare-grant
It is not possible to report this as a percentage of parents with caring responsibilities as the department does not hold the total number of undergraduates who are parents with caring responsibilities. This is because declaration of caring responsibilities is optional and only required for applicants who wish to apply for Special Support Loans or Childcare Grants.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the current student maintenance support system in light of sustained increases in rent, food, and energy costs; and what steps it is taking to ensure that student finance reflects real-world living expenses across all regions, including for students studying at rural institutions.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
To help higher education students with cost-of-living pressures, we are future-proofing maintenance loans by increasing them in-line with forecast inflation every year and reintroducing targeted means-tested maintenance grants of up to £1,000 per year from 2028/29. This year, we increased maximum maintenance loans by 3.1%, to £10,544 for students living away from home studying outside London, £13,762 for students living away from home studying in London, and £8,877 for students living at home.
Kathryn Mitchell, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Derby, will bring together sector experts and chair the Higher Education Access and Participation Task and Finish Group. Its remit includes developing options to address regional disparities in access for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. We are also working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to encourage universities to work with their local authorities on strategic approaches to meeting student housing needs.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to reduce students’ reliance on paid employment alongside their studies; and how it intends to ensure that students living in rural or employment-scarce areas have equal access to financial security, opportunity, and an acceptable quality of life while in higher education.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
To help higher education students with cost-of-living pressures, we are future-proofing maintenance loans by increasing them in-line with forecast inflation every year and reintroducing targeted means-tested maintenance grants of up to £1,000 per year from 2028/29. This year, we increased maximum maintenance loans by 3.1%, to £10,544 for students living away from home studying outside London, £13,762 for students living away from home studying in London, and £8,877 for students living at home.
Kathryn Mitchell, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Derby, will bring together sector experts and chair the Higher Education Access and Participation Task and Finish Group. Its remit includes developing options to address regional disparities in access for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. We are also working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to encourage universities to work with their local authorities on strategic approaches to meeting student housing needs.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to review how regional cost-of-living disparities are taken into account when calculating student maintenance support, particularly for lower-income students studying in rural university towns with limited housing supply.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
To help higher education students with cost-of-living pressures, we are future-proofing maintenance loans by increasing them in-line with forecast inflation every year and reintroducing targeted means-tested maintenance grants of up to £1,000 per year from 2028/29. This year, we increased maximum maintenance loans by 3.1%, to £10,544 for students living away from home studying outside London, £13,762 for students living away from home studying in London, and £8,877 for students living at home.
Kathryn Mitchell, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Derby, will bring together sector experts and chair the Higher Education Access and Participation Task and Finish Group. Its remit includes developing options to address regional disparities in access for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. We are also working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to encourage universities to work with their local authorities on strategic approaches to meeting student housing needs.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
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 raising the minimum income threshold for student maintenance loans in line with inflation.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to supporting the aspiration of every person who meets the requirements and wants to attend higher education. We are future proofing our maintenance loan offer by increasing maintenance loans in line with forecast inflation every academic year from 2026/27 onwards, and making all care leavers automatically eligible for the maximum maintenance loan regardless of their income from 2026/27.
We are also introducing new targeted maintenance grants from the 2028/29 academic year, which will provide disadvantaged students with up to £1,000 extra per year, on top of existing maintenance loans, increasing cash in student’s pockets, without increasing their debt.
We need to ensure that student funding system is financially sustainable. Around £20.7 billion of student loans administered by the Student Loans Company were issued in the 2024/25 financial year, of which £9.1 billion of maintenance loans were issued to undergraduate students.
The current system targets the highest levels of support at students with household incomes of £25,000 or less, who need it most.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of excluding full-time higher-education student households from childcare support schemes when mandatory placements prevent parents from working on those households.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Students with children who are undertaking work placement years with private employers do not qualify for the full-rate partially means-tested loans for living costs or means-tested dependants’ grants (Childcare Grant or Parents’ Learning Allowance). They only qualify for a reduced rate loan for living costs from Student Finance England. The government expects private employers who benefit from students’ work to provide support for students during work placements rather than the taxpayer
The government makes an exception for many work placements in the public sector by making available the full-rate partially means-tested loan for living costs and dependants grants to encourage students to gain work experience in these areas. This ensures that low-income students with children undertaking working placements in the public sector receive targeted support through the student support system.
Public sector work placements include unpaid service with a hospital, with a local authority in relation to the care of children and young persons, health and welfare, with the prison and probation service, and with either House of Parliament. They also include unpaid research at a UK or overseas institution.
Asked by: Lord Johnson of Marylebone (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of the anticipated £5 million cost of further education maintenance grants for years 2029 to 2030 and 2030 to 2031, set out in Budget 2025: Policy Costings, published on 26 November, how many students they expect to receive the grants for each of these years; and what the average cost of each maintenance grant will be.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government will introduce means-tested maintenance grants of up to £1,000 per year for students studying courses aligned with the government's missions and the Industrial Strategy. The grants will be available to new and continuing students from the 2028/29 academic year onwards, and will be paid in addition to maintenance loans, increasing the financial support available to the most disadvantaged students without increasing their debt.
The costing for the policy published at Autumn Budget 2025 sets out the forecast increase in annually managed expenditure on student loans resulting from the assumed behavioural response from the introduction of maintenance grants, in the form of increased participation. The estimate can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/692872fd2a37784b16ecf676/Budget_2025-Policy_Costings.pdf
A full equality impact assessment of how the introduction of maintenance grants may affect students will be published alongside the legislation necessary to introduce the grants in advance of their introduction.
Asked by: Lord Johnson of Marylebone (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of students who will benefit from the forthcoming means-tested maintenance grant who would not otherwise have been able to enrol in higher education.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government will introduce means-tested maintenance grants of up to £1,000 per year for students studying courses aligned with the government's missions and the Industrial Strategy. The grants will be available to new and continuing students from the 2028/29 academic year onwards, and will be paid in addition to maintenance loans, increasing the financial support available to the most disadvantaged students without increasing their debt.
The costing for the policy published at Autumn Budget 2025 sets out the forecast increase in annually managed expenditure on student loans resulting from the assumed behavioural response from the introduction of maintenance grants, in the form of increased participation. The estimate can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/692872fd2a37784b16ecf676/Budget_2025-Policy_Costings.pdf
A full equality impact assessment of how the introduction of maintenance grants may affect students will be published alongside the legislation necessary to introduce the grants in advance of their introduction.