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Hodge simplifies financial support for students most in need
Source: DfES, 28 November 2002
The Government is simplifying financial support for students most in need, especially students with dependants and disabled students. The current complicated array of 14 grants will be streamlined into just six, but with no students receiving less help than they do now and some receiving more.
Lifelong Learning and Higher Education Minister Margaret Hodge said:
“This government has pumped more money into support targeted at students with particular needs than ever before. Nearly a quarter of a billion pounds is now spent on such support compared to £124m five years ago. This has helped us to encourage more students into higher education, especially mature students and those with dependants.
“But, there is no point in having extra student support which is complicated to understand and difficult to access. We have said we would simplify and streamline the grants so that those wishing to aim higher can do so easily and confidently.
“This is only the first step. We will announce our wider review of student funding in January 2003 when we publish our 10 year vision for the development and reform of Higher Education.”
Alongside the student funding review, which will report in January 2003, the Department for Education and Skills carried out a review of targeted support earlier this year under the leadership of Dr Philip Harris, of Manchester University. The main changes arising from the review are:
| BEFORE | AFTER |
| 14 different grants | Only 6 different grants. No students will receive less help and some might get more |
| If you were receiving benefits or Tax Credit and then went to university you would have to apply again for the old Child Dependants Grant and old School Meals Grant | Child Dependants Grant and School Meals Grant now covered by the new Child Tax Credit which will mean a seamless and easy transition for those parents going from benefits to university or work. All student parents with household incomes below £58,000 will be eligible for support through tax credits, many of them for the first time. |
| Childcare Grant for those using registered childcare covering 85% of costs during term time but only 70% during summer holidays | Childcare Grant increased to cover 85% of registered childcare costs for entire academic year |
| 5 different Discretionary funds meaning students having to fill out up to 4 separate forms and not knowing what they might get | More funds become statutory so that more students will know exactly what they will have at the start of the year rather than what they could have and this will mean less forms to fill in. |
| A range of statutory and discretionary grants (Travel Books and Equipment Grant, Additional Dependants Grant and Access Bursaries) meant you could apply and receive an amount up to £1265 a year from 3 separate sources. But the 3 separate forms were complex and the top amount was not guaranteed. | Students now fill out one form to claim a new non repayable Parents Learning Allowance (PLA) of up to £1,300 per year to meet course related costs consolidating the old 3 grants next door. A clear income threshold will mean that most of the students receiving some or all 3 of the old grants will receive the maximum amount of PLA. |
| Assessment for disabled students only took place once the student had accepted their place. There were few assessment centres which meant there was a big backlog and many students did not receive their grants until term had started. | More access centres for assessments and clearer guidance for administrators so that disabled students can apply for assessment of their needs much earlier and get their support in place before they start. |
| Students who needed extra help on top of their statutory grants could apply to their university for non repayable Hardship Funds and Access Bursaries and unpopular and repayable Hardship Loans of up to £500 | New one stop shop Access to Learning Fund to replace Hardship Funds, Access Bursaries and Hardship Loans. All payments from this fund will be in the form of non repayable grants. |
All of the above reforms will take place from 2003/04 apart from the new Access to Learning Fund which will not begin until 2004/05.
Student parents should see no reduction in their support - for some their financial position will be even better because of the new Child Tax Credit and they will have more certainty over their funding. They will also get more of their support upfront.
Together with the Student Loans Company the Department is taking forward a programme to modernise the delivery of HE student support. During 2003/04 there will be pilots of a new IT system and a streamlined application process. This will be extended across all LEAs in England and Wales from 2004/05, subject to successful piloting.
Dr Harris said:
“This is very good news for students. The system of grants has been unnecessarily complicated and students have not understood it. The changes the Government are putting in place will target the support more effectively to students who need it. I am grateful to the review group for their time and energy in putting these new proposals together.”
Editor's Notes
This press notice relates to England
1. The Government is committed to increasing the proportion of students from
non-traditional backgrounds as part of its aim that by 2010 participation of
18-30 year olds in higher education, as measured by the Initial Entry Rate,
should reach 50 per cent.
2. Financial support for vulnerable students has increased substantially since 1997. The funding provided through Access and Hardship Funds has quadrupled from £22m in 1997/98 to £96m in 2002/03. (This includes £11.5m for Opportunity Bursaries and £17m for fee waivers for part-time students.) A further £10.4m is allocated for Hardship Loans.
3. Student parents are eligible for income-assessed Dependants’ Grants for each child. Since September 2001, the Government has provided a substantial additional financial package for student parents on full-time HE courses, including those in FE colleges. In 2002/03 it comprises:
a. an income-assessed Childcare Grant up to a maximum for one child of £114.75 per week (£170 for two or more children) during term time and the short vacations and £94.50 per week (£140 for two or more children) during the long vacation(for 2003/04 the higher rates will apply throughout the year.)
b. a Travel, Books and Equipment Grant of £510 per year, an extra £255 Grant for a first child, and an income assessed £500 Access Bursary from their institution (consolidated into the new Parents Learning Allowance of up to £1,300 in 2003/04).
c. a School Meals Grant, which is worth £255 for each child under 11 and £275 for children from 11 to 16 this year, replaced by free school meals in 2003/04 based on new eligibility criteria for non-working parents receiving the new Child Tax Credit.
The total amount estimated to be spent on targeted grants for students with dependants in 2002/03 is £91m.
4. In addition, spending on Disabled Students’ Allowances has gone up from £10.4m in 1996/97 to an estimated £47.5m in 2001/02.
5. With the exception of Dependants’ Grants, all the above grants are disregarded by DWP as income for benefit entitlement – and this principle is being maintained in 2003/04 to cover the new Parents’ Learning Allowance.
6. The targeted support review began in November 2001 and reported to Ministers in February 2002. The review group was led by Dr Philip Harris, of Manchester University, and included administrators and student advisers from Bradford, Bristol, Middlesex, Thames Valley, Nottingham Trent and Teesside Universities, as well as Hammersmith, Nottinghamshire and West Sussex LEAs, and the NUS.
7. During 2003/04 the Department will be piloting a new IT system that will enable students to access a number of services online, including a new interactive web-based application form. The Department will also be piloting a streamlined application process, with fewer application forms and less information and evidence required from applicants.
8. Students and their families could be entitled to more money through the new tax credits from the Inland Revenue which come into force in April 2003. Students with children will be entitled to claim the Child Tax Credit which, for the first time, will be paid to parents regardless of whether or not they are working or studying. Students who apply in time will get the Child Tax Credit from April 2003 without losing a penny of Child Dependants Grant and School Meals Grant in the 2002/03 academic year. For further information on the Child Tax Credit, contact the Inland Revenue on 0845 300 3900 or on line at www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/taxcredits
9. The new streamlined statutory grant arrangements apply only to England and Wales. Discretionary support in Wales is devolved to the Welsh Assembly, which has already introduced changes to their Financial Contingency Funds. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own systems of student support.
10. The following diagram sets out the changes to targeted
11. The following grants/bursaries will be amalgamated or phased out:
 | Lone Parents grant is being phased out; it is still available to continuing students who started their course in 2000/01 or before. |
| School Meals Grant will be abolished and replaced by passported free schools meals with entitlement based upon receipt of the new Child Tax Credit. |
| Care Leavers Grant is being phased out; those who were aged 16 or 17 and in care on 1 October 2001 or afterwards may be eligible, under the Children (Leaving Care) Act, for extra support during long vacations. |
| Child Dependants Grant will be abolished and replaced by Child Tax Credit from the Inland Revenue. |
| Additional Dependants grant will be consolidated into the Parents Learning Allowance. |
| Two Homes Grant will be discontinued - students can apply for help from the discretionary fund. |
| Travel Books and Equipment Grant will be consolidated into the Parents Learning Allowance. |
| Access Bursary will be consolidated into the Parents Learning Allowance. |
| Mature Student Bursary has now been discontinued. |
| Hardship Loans and Hardship Funds will be consolidated into one non- repayable fund from 2004/05. |
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Last chance to enter the Adult Learners’ Week Awards
Winter is upon us, the New Year is fast approaching and time is running out for entry to the Adult Learners’ Week Awards for 2003.
NIACE is encouraging people across England to nominate individuals who have made a difference to their lives through learning. Senior learners will get special recognition in the individual award category.
Adults whose learning achievements have benefited them in the workplace or by gaining employment can enter the Learning Works Awards. In addition, community groups are welcome to apply for prizes of £500 each.
The search is also underway for families who learn together, whether they learn at home on the Internet, holiday French at the community centre or rock climbing outdoors. Whatever the story, NIACE wants to hear about it.
Providers of learning opportunities are not forgotten. There are awards for family learning providers as well as the New Learning Opportunities Awards which has a top prize of £5,000 for an innovative project that opens up the way to learning for new and different adults.
The awards have become renowned for stories of progress and transformation. “Each year we see just what a difference adults are making to their lives through learning. Its not surprising they get so much out of it when we see the range of innovative opportunities on offer to them,” said Sue Duffen, Campaigns Officer, reflecting on entries to the awards.
The closing date for entries to all awards is 10 January 2003 with the exception of the Learning Works Awards on 7 February 2003 and Family Learning Awards on 3 March 2003.
Download ALW Nomination Forms here >
| For further information on the awards or Adult Learners’ Week 2003, contact the Campaigns and Promotions Team on 0116 2044 200 or email alw@niace.org.uk. |
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