Universities UK responds to the government's announcement on maintenance grants

Extra money to support students from diverse backgrounds to study courses critical to economic growth is the right idea – but this would be executing it in the wrong way. 

A levy on international students will not help disadvantaged students, it will hinder them. As emerging evidence already shows, it would reduce the number of places available for domestic students and mean universities have even less of their scant resource to invest into expanding access and supporting students.

In the UK, less public money goes into higher education than in any other developed nation, with domestic and international students paying a higher share. Universities already contribute a huge amount to government priorities and if, after more than a decade of effectively freezing domestic fees the government wants them to do more, it’s time we had a debate about making a greater contribution from the public purse.