students-summer-payment

NUS demands the government gives students a ‘summer payment’ to combat hardship

‘While everyone else in society can claim benefits, many students can’t’


The government should give students a “summer payment” to combat hardship, the National Union of Students (NUS) Scotland demands.

Research by the Scottish government found that half of students failed to find work over the summer months and 63 per cent faced hardship.

That’s why NUS Scotland is demanding students receive some financial relief “to bridge the gap between terms so that no student is pushed into hardship over the summer.”

A survey by the Scottish government found that over half of students struggled more with their finances over summer than during term time.

A separate study by the NUS found that of the students who were in work, 40 per cent were on zero hours contracts or in “gig economy” jobs.

NUS Scotland said in a tweet: “So what if we can’t find work during the summer? While everyone else in society can claim benefits, many students can’t.

“Our only source of support is often hardship funding, which the @scotgov survey told us students found ‘complicated’ and ‘asked for too much information’.

The solution? A student summer payment to bridge the gap between terms so that no student is pushed into hardship over the summer.”

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