§ Viscount Ridleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have in mind any measures to alleviate hardship caused by their decision to halve the minimum grant to students from £410 to £205 where this applies to students already entered on a course in good faith, and whether they agree that this decision is a retrospective one which can create genuine distress, however justifiable this reduction may be for the future.
§ The Earl of SwintonThe halving of the minimum award will in practice only affect students from the most well-off families, whose parents are best placed to make a larger contribution, and the Government do not believe that this decision will cause hardship. Students can have no automatic expectations of a particular level of grant for the duration of their courses.