Our response to the APPG Students inquiry into the impact of the cost of living crisis on students

Last updated on Thursday 2 Mar 2023 at 2:52pm

Our response to the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) Students inquiry into the impact of the cost of living crisis on students.

The cost of living crisis is having a profound impact on many students and universities across the UK. Students are expressing concerns about their ability to manage their finances, the impact of rising costs on their mental health, and an impact on their livelihoods as students.

We continue to work with our members to understand the changing situation and impact of the cost of living crisis on students and institutions, and how government can alleviate financial pressures.

This response is a culmination of feedback from our member institutions, polling completed by Savanta ComRes on behalf of UUK (July 2022), and the recent ONS survey on the cost-of-living and higher education students (February 2023).

Our response

Impact on student income and expenditure

Recent data from ONS and UUK polling has revealed that students have significant concerns around their own income and expenditure with 91% of students being worried or very worried about the rising cost of living in the last two weeks.
Our members have reported that student main expenditure concerns around: course related expenses, energy and food bills, fuel and transport costs and private rented accommodation.
To support students, universities continue to offer hardship funding to students who are experiencing financial difficulty.

Existing support

Universities are undertaking a wide range of actions to support students by:

anticipating an increased use of student services on entry and through the study journey
engaging with their Students’ Unions and student representatives
improving and updating their information on course and living costs
increasing their hardship and crisis support funds
providing targeted support to keep rental, energy and food costs low
ensuring all students (including international students) are aware of university support available to them and of their eligibility

Impact on different student groups

Polling from ONS and Savanta ComRes on behalf of UUK found that specific student groups including those who are mature, commuters, part-time, disabled, and international, as well as those from different social backgrounds.have been disproportionately affected by the cost of living crisis.
Our members have identified similar student populations as being disproportionately affected by the cost of living crisis including disabled students, commuter students and mature students.

Further action

As cost of living pressures intensify, it will become increasingly apparent where some groups of students are missing out on support and where there is a need for extra support. Government and universities will need to work together to assess how increased support is given to those who are most in need.

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