# Background ## Forecast errors with maintenance loans - September 2022 maintenance loans will be increased by the rate of “forecast inflation” of 2.3%. This was calculated in November 2020! - September 2023 maintenance loans will be 2.8% - September 2022 will see the maximum student maintenance loan fall below the equivalent of the national living wage (based on a 22 year old working 37.5 hours a week) - the forecast errors mean that students from the poorest families will be £1,200 down in 2022/23. There is not a mechanism to address this ## Inflation - many students’ parents will see their income rise in cash terms but fall in real terms - therefore many students will be eligible for smaller maintenance loans, even though their parents will be less able to support them. > "If you adjust for earnings, back in 2007 a student whose family earned £35k a year would have got the full grant/loan. These days we take £1,400 off the max loan on the basis that parents can afford to chip it in ([View Highlight](https://instapaper.com/read/1528853155/20356704))" ## Impact - International Students flights will be more expensive - Social life suffers # National Statistics ## NUS statistics - Cost of learning crisis - Most students have less than £50 a week to spend - 96% say they are cutting back - 77% said cutting back on socialising. Not about a pint, its about even leaving the house. - 52% said cutting back on food - 42% said cutting back on heating - 42% said cutting back on transport. 44% in North West. - 1 in 5 cutting back on toiletries. Showering less. - Food bank use has doubled nationally since start of 2022. 14% of NW students are using foodbanks. - 33% of respondents say that cost of living has had major impact on those who financially support students. - Apprentices have least faith in the government- only 4% agree govt support has been sufficient. ## Net Natives Survey June 2022 *See [[articles - Student Views on Cost of Living and Politics Wonkhe]]* - 8 in 10 students are worried about the cost of living and over half have already been impacted by the rising cost of living ([View Highlight](https://instapaper.com/read/1513723671/20343033)) - 6 in 10 students are in work and many are working more to combat the rising cost of living ([View Highlight](https://instapaper.com/read/1513723671/20343034)) - a quarter of students have requested support of hardship funds, but almost half of those have not received it. ([View Highlight](https://instapaper.com/read/1513723671/20343035)) ## Unite Survey April 2022 *See [[articles - For Students, the Cost of Living Pressures Are Really Starting to Bite Wonkhe]]. About both parents and students views ### Parents: - 36 percent struggling to financially support their child through university - ==73 percent say they’re extremely worried== about the escalating cost of living - 41 percent have said that financial issues are affecting their mental health ### Students: - 32 percent of students feel uncomfortable asking a parent or guardian for money - 29 percent actively hide debt from family and friends - 50 percent of students say that financial issues are affecting their mental health - 43 percent of students have said they’re worried about the financial strain their university experience is putting on their parents or guardians - 32 percent said they’ve had to increase the amount of hours they work alongside studies - students are turning to a range of income streams - 25 percent have taken out an overdraft - 32 percent are selling their possessions - 8 percent have signed up for scientific or clinical trials - 11 percent have invested money in the stock market - 10 percent have set up cryptocurrency accounts - 8 percent trying to become social media influencers - 9 percent admit turning to gambling - 4 percent have signed up to a sugar daddy/mummy website ==(if there's 25,000 students at Salford, and this national stat holds for Salford, that's 1000 Salford students who have signed up)==. ## NUS research December 2021 - The average annual rent for purpose-built student accommodation in the UK in 2021-22 increased 4.4 per cent on the previous year: ==16 per cent up on pre-Covid levels (2018-19). == - In the last decade, ==average rents have increased by 61 per cent.== ## National Student Money Survey September 2020 See [[articles - Student Loans Don't Cover Students' Costs Wonkhe]]. Also includes graphics. - There is a £233 average monthly Maintainance loan gap - 74% of students rely on part time work - ==71% worry about making ends meet== - 4% have done sex work, but 10% would turn to it in an emergency. They're more likely to do this than gamble or take out a commercial/ payday loan (both 5%). - Rent makes up the biggest chunk of students’ monthly living costs but, at an average of £418, that alone can be ==73% of their Maintenance Loan== for the month - ==60% of students say social life suffer==s - Transport is 4th biggest cost, household bills are 5th biggest cost. Rent, groceries and going out are above those. # Ideas Taken from [[articles - How Can Universities Support Students Through the Cost of Living Crisis Wonkhe]] 1. Consolidate the teaching timetable to reduce the number of days on campus. 2. Have flexibility through online lectures 3. Embedding mental health and wellbeing into the curriculum 4. Provide free co- and extra- curricula activities to support health and wellbeing. 5. Provide free travel cards to enable attendance on campus if no university transport is provided or accessible 6. Reduce utility costs especially in shared accommodation where bills are not included in the rent (like managing gadgets and appliances), and effective cheap ways to stay warm during winter and stay well. 7. Introduction of a community university larder and freezer (aka a Food Bank). Items could be sourced from bulk buying and the Fare Share Scheme. 8. Create cheap, healthy and tasty recipe cards 9. Pay students for voluntary roles. 10. Be aware of students making difficult decisions around their income which may involve working in informal and unregulated markets such as in-person or online sex work.