Scottish students to receive early hardship support

The Scottish Government has brought forward early access to discretionary funds for students facing hardship as a result of COVID-19.

At a press briefing on 11 June, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that £11.4 million will be made available for students over summer.

The funding was not expected to be released until the start of the new academic year.

It will be administered by colleges and universities, who will have the flexibility to offer this money to bridge the gap between bursary payments ending in June and the start of Universal Credit payments.

Ms Sturgeon said: “We know that many students rely on income from seasonal or part-time jobs, especially over the summer months, and that the economic impacts of Covid-19 will therefore cause them particular difficulties.

“That can be especially important for higher education students who, unlike further education students, can’t usually claim benefits over the summer.

“We’ve already provided additional support for students and we’ve also suspended debt recovery action by the students awards agency and today we’re bringing forward more than £11m of further support this funding.”

No student should face financial hardship as a result – so these new measures will support students until the start of the next academic year when bursary, grant and loan payments will begin again

– Richard Lochhead

Scottish students studying in Europe as part of EU Portability or a similar historically-arranged scheme will be able to access a £100,000 emergency fund administered by the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS).

Richard Lochhead, minister for Further, Higher Education and Science, said: “Given the economic impact of COVID-19, many continuing students who rely on seasonal and part-time jobs in the summer could find it difficult to cover their basic housing or cost of living costs.

“No student should face financial hardship as a result – so these new measures will support students until the start of the next academic year when bursary, grant and loan payments will begin again.

“We are now bringing forward £11.4 million in support for higher education students in financial difficult that was not due to be available until the new academic year. This builds on our £5 million support plan for FE and HE students announced in April.

“The UK Government package announced on 4 May for higher education providers and students was disappointing, and fell short of recognising the full scale of the challenge.”

The National Union of Students (NUS) welcomed the move by the Scottish government.

NUS Scotland president Liam McCabe said: “Discretionary funding is a welcome solution to short-term student hardship, however, the financial impacts of COVID-19 will be long-term and long-lasting, and students need certainty, consistency and guaranteed funding all year round.

“We remain concerned that releasing money earmarked for next year may create problems for the future and call for the Scottish government to ensure that the further and higher education sectors and student finance are sustainably funded beyond this crisis.”

Scottish students have been encouraged to contact SAAS to discuss what financial help is available.