Written question WQ87873

The Welsh Government recognises the financial pressures at this time on students and families across Wales as their incomes are further squeezed due to the cost of living and energy price rises.

I was pleased to confirm £2.3m of additional funding via the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) to support health and well-being and help ease the financial pressures on students. This investment recognises the significant impact the cost-of-living crisis is having on students’ mental health and the focus on boosting financial support services and making additional hardship funding available is welcome and necessary given the significant strain on university students’ pockets right now.

In allocating the funding I asked the Council to encourage institutions to work collaboratively with Students’ Unions to ensure the support provided meets the needs of students, and to involve students with experience of financial challenges in reviewing the support provided.

HEFCW have conducted an Integrated Impact Assessment on the additional funding, concluding that this allocation should make a positive contribution to increasing resources for well-being and health and encourages collaboration and involvement of Students’ Unions and students with a range of backgrounds / experience, in line with the five ways of working of the Well-being of Future Generations Act.

They will continue to impact assess through monitoring, with a full report on how the funding has been allocated and the activities supported expected at the end of October.