Written question WQ87066

Living costs should never be a barrier to studying at university, which is why the Welsh Government provides the most generous grants in the UK, as part of our overall package of statutory student support for eligible undergraduates and postgraduates.

For students who are already approved for student support, if their household income has dropped by of 15 % or more since tax year 2020-21, they can request a Current Year Income assessment based on their household income for the current tax year 2022-23. Their student support will be based on an estimate of their household income for the current tax year; however, they will be asked to provide evidence at the end of year to check that estimates given were correct.

For students who have not yet applied for student support, they must make an application to Student Finance Wales within nine months from the start of their academic year. Their student support can be backdated to the start of the academic year if applying within the deadline. Applications made after nine months will not be accepted, however, discretion can be considered by Student Finance Wales for late applications on a case-by-case basis.

Students can also apply through the Student Finance Wales financial hardship process to bring forward future payments to an earlier point in the academic year. The same hardship process can be used to defer a grant or loan overpayment to the next academic or to the end of the course; this means no overpayment deduction will be made against their current academic year support if they find themselves in this situation. Information about the hardship process is available on the Student Finance Wales website.

In addition to the statutory student support package, the Welsh Government has allocated £2.3m funding to the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) for this academic year, 2022/2023 to support mental health and wellbeing activities. This funding will be used to address the cost-of-living crisis facing learners and students of all ages. It will improve and promote money advice services in higher education, including for those moving from college or school to higher education. This funding will also help support students facing financial pressures by extending hardship funding. It will support HEIs’ existing mental health and well-being strategies, including extending the benefits of the funding to the Further Education (FE) and school systems.

If students are experiencing financial difficulties, they are encouraged to speak to their university at the earliest opportunity. Universities in Wales have dedicated Student Service teams providing advice, information and support about money matters, mental health and wellbeing, and hardship funding.

I will shortly be announcing the statutory student support funding arrangements for the 2023/24 academic year, which will support eligible new and continuing students during their studies at university.