Fees and funding – the latest developments
The fees and funding discussions continue with some interesting developments this week.
Firstly, there was a written response by the Minister -responding to the Resolution of the House on 13th September 2017 on tuition fees (the non-binding one that was essentially passed unanimously because no Conservative MPs attended). The statement included a few important points and some hints:
- Maximum grants and loans for living and other costs will be increased by forecast inflation (3.2%) in 2018/19.
- For the first time, students starting part-time degree level courses from 1 August 2018 onwards will qualify for loans for living costs.
- I expect to lay regulations implementing changes to student finance for undergraduates and postgraduates for 2018/19 early in 2018. These regulations will be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny.
- The Department of Health will be making a separate announcement on changes to student finance for postgraduate healthcare students and dental hygiene and dental therapy students in 2018/19.