HC Deb 01 February 2002 vol 379 cc631-2W
Dr. Francis

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on student hardship in higher education. [R] [31469]

Margaret Hodge

The latest Student Income and Expenditure Survey (SIES) showed that in 1998–99 most students could meet all their essential expenditure from the student loan, which has since been raised annually in line with inflation. The SIES and other surveys suggest that students are meeting additional costs of entertainment and consumer goods from family income, commercial credit and part-time working.

Our system of student support is designed so that those with the greatest need get the most support. 50 per cent. of full-time students entering HE in 2001–02 do not pay anything towards their tuition fees. We have introduced a number of measures including the Childcare Grant package to meet the needs of student parents, and there is other targeted support for disabled students and young people most in need.

In our current review of student support we are looking at ways to simplify the system, especially in the area of hardship support; to provide more up-front support for students from less well-off backgrounds; to ensure that all students have access to sufficient financial support throughout their years in higher education; and to tackle the problem of debt and the perception of debt.