Constituents have contact me about support for students.

I am aware that many people, including students, are facing challenges as a result of the rise in the cost of living. As such, I welcome that upfront loans are available as a contribution towards students' living costs while attending university with the most support available for students from the lowest income backgrounds.

I understand that maximum grants and loans for living costs were increased by 3.1 per cent for the 2021-22 academic year, and increased by a further 2.3 per cent for the 2022-23 academic year. This represents the largest ever amount of support in cash terms. The Government has confirmed that loans and grants to support undergraduate and postgraduate students with living and other costs will be increased by 2.8 per cent for the 2023/24 academic year. For the 2024/25 academic year, maximum undergraduate loans for living costs will be increased by a further 2.5 per cent.

The Government has continued to increase maximum loans and grants for living costs each year with the most support for students from the lowest income families. Decisions on student finance have had to be taken to ensure the system remains financially sustainable and the costs of higher education are shared fairly between students and taxpayers, not all of whom have benefited from going to university.

Further, the Department is freezing tuition fees until the 2024-25 academic year, which means that by 2025, maximum fees will have been frozen for seven years. The maximum level of tuition fees for a standard full-time course will therefore remain at £9,250 for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years. This will deliver better value for students and to keep the cost of higher education down.

The Department has also made available £276 million of Student Premium and Mental Health funding for the 2023/24 academic year, to support students who need additional help including disadvantaged students. A further £10 million of one-off support is being made available to support student mental health and hardship funding. This funding will complement the help universities are providing through their own bursary, scholarship and hardship support schemes.

I will continue to monitor this issue closely.