£50 million support package for students
Students in difficulty
The support from the Government recognises that students have been hard hit by the pandemic. Many students have lost the part-time work they rely on to fund their studies, while some students are struggling to meet the cost of their accommodation. This support is specifically targeted at these students, and those that have incurred extra cost to access online learning.
How to access the funding
The funding is being provided directly to Universities and to access it, you will need to directly apply to your University. Universities are considered best place to understand which students need the support and it is available to international students as well as students from the UK. Some good examples of when the funding will be available are;
- For students who are incurring extra costs by having to pay for accommodation in two locations
- For those that can no longer work, if for example your part-time job was located close to University and you are unable to return
- You have incurred additional costs to access remote learning
You can find more details here https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-announces-50-million-to-support-students-impacted-by-covid-19
MP’s calls for more support
Students and their accommodation costs remain firmly on the radar for a group of influential MP’s who have called for even more support for students, demanding up to £700 million in support for students. This representative group of MP’s argue this money is required to replace lost earnings, cover rent payments and losses from missed teaching opportunities. You can find out more about this here
This group of MP’s are led by Paul Blomfield, who was previously ran, Sheffield University Students’ Union, one of the best Students’ Unions in the country. It reflects the sympathy that many have for the experiences student have had this year and the determination to ensure that this improves as quickly as possible.
