A new online petition is calling on the UK Government to extend cost of living payment support to every student in higher education. The petition indicates that around one-third of students receive just £5,000 a year in financial support through loans, grants or bursaries, a sum it suggests is two-thirds less than someone working full-time being paid the National Minimum Wage.
It also argues that means-tested student loans are falling short of daily living costs due to higher inflation rates and states that “most students rely on Government loans, and should be entitled to a top up to help with the increased cost of living”.
The ‘Extend Cost of Living Payments to all students in higher education’ petition has been created and posted on the petitions-parliament website by Megan Cushnahan, PR Manager at Student Beans. If the calls for cost of living payments, worth £900 in total over the next financial year, receives 10,000 signatures of support, then the UK Government will be obliged to give an official response.
