The poorest students will be £1,000-a-year worse off this academic year than in 2020-21 as maintenance loans have been outstripped by inflation, analysis shows.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the most deprived students were losing out as maintenance support - which is based on family income - has not kept pace with soaring inflation.
Students are facing real terms cuts to their loans, which are calculated based on a forecast rather than actual inflation - which is now higher than the forecast.
"Merely because inflation has been higher than the OBR was previously expecting, the real value of maintenance entitlements has fallen substantially and is now at the lowest level it has been in seven years," the researchers said.
"Compared with what they would have been entitled to in 2020–21, students from the poorest families have lost more than £1,000 in maintenance loan entitlement, which is around £250 more than we estimated back in June."
On top of this, students are "falling through the cracks" of the Government's cost of living support as they are not typically eligible for benefits and it's unclear whether halls of residence qualify for energy bill help, the think tank said.
Kate Ogden, a senior research economist at the IFS, said: “While others are benefiting from extra government support, students have been left in the cold.
"Merely because of errors in inflation forecasts, the poorest students will be more than £1,000 worse off this academic year than in 2020-21.
"This could lead to significant hardship for many this winter."
IFS chief Paul Johnson tweeted: "Now this is just ridiculous. Students will be around £1,000 a year worse off, next year and into the future, because maintenance loans are based on forecast inflation.
"Forecasts were much too low. They are not even due to be corrected."
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We recognise the financial challenges students face with the rise in global inflation. That is why we have continued to increase the amount students can access through loans and grants for living and other costs every year.
“Higher Education providers can continue to support students in hardship through the student premium, for which £261 million of funding is available through the Office for Students this year.
“Many universities are also doing fantastic work to support their students through a variety of programmes and we urge any student who is worried about their circumstances to speak to their university.”
