One in four university students have less than £50 to live on every month

One in four university students have less than £50 to live on every month, according to new research conducted by the National Union of Students (NUS).

As a result, two thirds of students have sought financial assistance, with five per cent utilising food banks and a further 13 per cent using credit schemes such as Klarna.

The research also found that half of all students don’t think their student loan covers the cost of living.

At 12:30pm today, Chancellor Rishi Sunak will unveil his Spring Statement 2022, and is expected to announce a series of measures to combat the cost of living crisis.

Against this backdrop, the NUS is calling for a maintenance support system to be introduced to support students in higher education.

The union is also calling on the government to go back on its plan to reduce the student loan repayment threshold from £27,200 to £25,000 – a change that could see some students saddling up to £100k of debt.

““When you’re hearing from students who can’t afford to travel to their campus library, you know there is something deeply wrong,” NUS UK President Larissa Kennedy said. “We know that thousands of students are already being forced to choose between heating and eating, and with this cost-of-living crisis only expected to get worse, the Government needs to act to support the most vulnerable.

“As we saw at the national student strike earlier this month, students from across the UK are desperate for something radically different. But as well as applying sticking plasters on the current marketised system, the Government needs to see that their profit-driven model is broken. They need to finally commit to a new vision for education, which is fully funded and accessible for all.”

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