Student finance

That this House recognises the vital role of financial support in enabling students from all backgrounds to access and succeed in higher education; welcomes the commitment to increase maintenance loans in line with inflation; notes the continuing pressures that rising living costs place on students and their families; further recognises the challenges faced by estranged students and by families supporting multiple children through higher education at the same time; believes that student support should be fair, accessible and reflective of individual circumstances; further believes that the Consumer Prices Index provides a more appropriate measure of inflation for student finance calculations than the generally higher Retail Prices Index; calls on the Government to keep under review the adequacy of maintenance support, the use of parental income in determining entitlement, access to student finance for estranged students, and the eligibility criteria for future maintenance grants; and urges the Government to ensure that all students facing financial hardship are able to access the support they need to participate fully in higher education.