England’s poorest students will be more than £1,000 worse off this academic year than the last, according to a new analysis that warns of “significant hardship for many this winter”.
According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), the reduction – which means students from the poorest families will be £125 out of pocket each month – is due to the falling value of maintenance loans, which students take out to cover their living costs.
Maintenance loans are adjusted in line with inflation forecasts rather than inflation itself. Because inflation has been significantly higher than forecast, students are being hit harder by the cost-of-living crisis than previously thought.
“While others are benefiting from extra government support, students have been left out in the cold,” said IFS senior research economist and author of the report, Kate Ogden. “Merely because of errors in inflation forecasts, the poorest students will be more than £1,000 worse off this academic year than in 2020-21. This could lead to significant hardship for many this winter.
