Labour’s Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, has revealed plans to reinstate means-tested grants for the most financially disadvantaged university students. Phillipson emphasized the importance of making higher education accessible to all, not just the affluent, and pledged to implement these changes by the end of the current parliamentary term.

The grants, previously available to students with household incomes below £25,000 to help cover living expenses exceeding £3,000 annually, were eliminated by the Conservative government in 2016 and replaced with loans under Chancellor George Osborne’s austerity measures.

Addressing the Labour party’s annual conference, Phillipson criticized the Tories for politicizing universities and declared Labour’s commitment to serving working-class youth. She highlighted the need for additional measures to promote equal opportunities and announced the introduction of targeted maintenance grants for students pursuing priority courses at levels four to six, including higher national diploma qualifications and undergraduate degrees.

These grants will be funded through a new levy specifically on international students attending English higher education institutions, with further details expected in the upcoming Budget announcement. While the move was welcomed by some, such as Dani Payne of the Social Market Foundation, who lauded the support for financially struggling students, the University College Union’s General Secretary, Jo Grady, raised concerns about funding maintenance grants through international student fees, calling for increased public investment in education instead.

Overall, Labour’s initiative aims to alleviate financial burdens on students from low-income backgrounds, ensuring that they can pursue higher education and technical qualifications without undue financial strain.