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Students should be paid their maintenance loans monthly instead of per term to help them with the cost of living crisis, a group of Labour MPs is urging the government.
Dozens of Labour backbenchers are supporting a bill that would bring England’s maintenance loan system in line with Scotland’s.
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Currently, students in England receive their loans in three lump sums over the academic year. For those receiving the maximum £10.5k annually outside London, this equates to £3.5k payments every four months, which they need to make last.
Labour MP Luke Charters, who is proposing the bill, told Sky News that “lots of students are maxing their overdrafts and credit cards” because they are struggling to manage their budgets.
“Could you imagine having your salary drop three times a year and getting four months all at once? It’s really, really a difficult balance for students at the moment,” he said.
The bill, supported by the National Union of Students (NUS) and dozens of regional student unions, also proposes giving students their first payment in advance of term starting so they can buy supplies and pay their rent deposit, which is often due before September.
In a speech in parliament introducing the bill on Wednesday, the York Outer MP said this was impacting working-class students who cannot rely on their parents.
“Pots and pans, rent deposits, books, software, travel passes, course subscriptions, these costs all stack up,” he said.
“I heard of a student who couldn’t afford the train to university because their student finance hadn’t arrived. Starting uni should be memorable, not miserable.”
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