UK universities call for maintenance loan uplift amid students’ financial woes

theguardian.com:

The government is being urged not to forget students in the cost of living crisis, as universities report growing numbers turning to them for help with financial worries.

Ahead of Friday’s mini-budget, the Russell Group of research-intensive universities called for an immediate uplift in maintenance loans in line with current inflation, as well as an increase in hardship funding to target those most in need.

The appeal from the group of 24 leading universities came as a survey suggested the average student’s maintenance loan now falls £439 short of covering their living costs every month, up from the £340 shortfall last year.

The National Student Money Survey 2022, which is conducted by Save the Student – a website which advises students on how to make their money go further – and is based on a poll of 2,300 university students, found four out of five (82%) students are worried about how to make ends meet, up from 76% last year. One in 10 of those who took part claimed they had used a food bank in the last academic year.

A second-year student at the University of Chichester told the survey: “With the prices of everything going up right now I find it hard to stay positive in life.” A first-year student at the University of Surrey said they went without food in order to be able to afford rent.

Jake Butler, Save the Student’s money expert, said: “This is the most worried I’ve ever been about the financial situation students are facing. In a decade of running the National Student Money Survey, this year’s findings are bleak. And we expect much worse is yet to come.”

Despite near double-digit inflation, the loan that students can access to support living costs has risen by only 2.3% for 2022/23, according to the Russell Group,