Stephen Twigg for West Derby

Young people planning to start at university this September must get their forms in by the end of the week (27 June), else they risk their student support coming late, Labour candidate Stephen Twigg warned today.

Students starting in September will receive more financial support than ever before, under a new improved package announced last year. The family income threshold for the maximum grant of £2825 has been raised from £17,500 to £25,000, and the top threshold has been raised to £60,000.

This will mean that one third of all eligible students in England starting university this September will receive a full non-repayable grant worth £2,825 and another one third will receive a partial grant.

For a student from a household on £25,000 a year earnings, this will mean an extra £1,100 a year in maintenance grant. For a student from a family on £40,000 a year, it will mean an extra £1,000 a year.

But time is running out, warned Stephen Twigg.

He said: “Labour believes that success in life should be based on talent and hard work, not how much cash you earn – that’s why we’re providing more support for students than ever before.

“I know most students will be taking a well earned rest after working hard for their exams, but I want to remind them to apply for their cash – they could get up to £2825 in non repayable grant, as well as their student loan. If they miss the deadline of the end of this week, they could be turning up to university without any cash in their pockets”

John Denham, Secretary of State for Universities, said
“Labour is providing more help than ever before to help people reach their full potential. Of course we are targeting most resource to the least well off. But we also know that hard working families on modest incomes have concerns about the affordability of university study. They have high aspirations, and rightly so. We are helping them fulfil those aspirations.” 

More details can be found at www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance, where students and parents can find detailed information relating to their circumstances.