I have joined other MPs in writing to the Secretary of State for Education regarding the 2.8% rise in the student maintenance loans this year.

With inflation at 10%, this increase is simply not enough, and amounts to a real terms cut in the amount students will receive this year.

I am deeply concerned that this will not only discourage many future students from attending university, but will make the lives of current students significantly more difficult.

This is why I’m asking the Secretary of State for Education Gillian Keegan MP to review the value of the current maintenance loans in line with the cost of living for students, allowing all those who attend University to do so without worrying about financial hardship.

Read Mary Kelly Foy’s letter to the Secretary of State here.