To think the government needs to something quickly to help families financially supporting children at Uni.

[Fl0renc3]

Mortgages are going up( ours will by 300 when we remortgage v soon), energy bills will be going up hugely, ditto food, petrol etc…. Already making all the savings we can.

We have got to start paying our child £500 a month to live on from October on top. It was already going to be a squeeze.Her bills will be rocketing too so who knows if what we were planning to give her will be enough.

We don’t have a money tree and have 2 other children due to start Uni in the next few years. I know the poorest and the richest will be ok re funding for their child at Uni but there is a massive band in the middle who won’t. Whether or not you can go to Uni shouldn’t be decided on parental income( thanks Tories) but those already there and just starting are going to be in dire straits as are the families supporting them.

Students can't get free prescriptions.

If they have a low income, as the minimum maintenance loan is, and no/low savings they can, which is what the OP is claiming her DD’s position will be.

Libraries don't have hundreds of copies of every textbook so if one is required by every student on a course, the great majority (if not all) will have to buy it.

As I and @poetryandwine posted, many resources are now online. For the ones that aren’t libraries often have enough of the majority of necessary texts for students to get by &/or it’s possible to buy them second hand so buying multiple new textbooks at £100 each isn’t necessary.

Accommodation is very expensive and the minimum loan is usually not enough to cover it.

OP says the loan covers DD’s accommodation.

Confirmation from the University of Manchester students’ union students on low incomes with little/no savings can get free prescriptions available here.

We cannot afford to send 500 each month to dc for Uni. we too have children spaced closer together. DC will not however get the maximum loan.
They know this. So, at 16, they have got a job. This summer they have been working over 20hrs per week to 1) afford the commute to their chosen 6th form , we support their choice and they were fully aware we could not afford the commute when they chose and that they would have to work and 2) hopefully put aside some money for unit as they are hoping to go to an oxbridge.
I have no idea why people think that it is okay for their kids not to work? It is a luxury for them if they dont have to. Even then, I would prefer if they did to gain some work ethic and understanding of how the world works and appreciate money.

My loan of about £4,000 didn’t ever cover my accommodation, I got a job and a student overdraft like everyone else. I worked in hospitality in term time, picked up temping jobs in the holidays doing anything from assembling calendars in the Christmas holidays to processing benefit forms over the summer. My parents didn’t contribute, nor did I expect them to.

Our DD starts this September. She is going local and living at home. She had a PT job in pizza express. Hoping to not need any loans and she can continue to live here rent free. It’s not mandatory that they live away from home. If the Uni education is the focus there ways round the finances.

YABU - because when you say the government, there isn't a magic money tree, so what you really mean is 'the taxpayers.' why should an 18 y/o who leaves school and gets a full time job have to pay towards the housing and accommodation of their ex-schoolmate for the rest of their lives, particularly when the aim is that said schoolmate will end up getting paid more?

Graduates already aren't paying off their loans, so why give them more money?
We need to separate tuition fee loans and maintenance loans - one it's fair enough that it gets written off eventually if said graduate doesn't end up earning enough to pay it back. The other, the person has already lived in the accommodation, and eaten the food, (and drunk the beer!) they spent said loan on, so of course they should have to pay it back, even if it does take 40 years!

I would prefer to possibly give some sort of grant or extra loan to students who have 30plus hour weeks and are often expected to work during the holidays - e.g. medical students, teachers, etc. But for those who do humanities and have 6 timetabled hours per week, and 25 weeks holiday - just get a job! Speaking from my own experience, I did 16hrs p/w term time, and more in the holidays, and basically self-funded myself, and still got a 1st (and still went out multiple times a week, joined societies, spent the requisite full days watching tv, etc). I could easily have worked more hours, and had friends who worked pretty much full time and still got 2.1s.

They don't actually say students will get it though! They only state they can apply which is pretty obvious and applies to everyone. If the loan and “expected contribution to the loan” (presumably this is the parental contribution) are over the deemed “living requirements” they won't be able to get free prescriptions.

Of course they don’t say students will definitely get it, as everyone’s circumstances are different and not everyone will be eligible, I never said all students would get free prescriptions, but those with a low income and low/no savings are eligible. There are plenty of students who do get free prescriptions via the low income scheme. Posting “Students can't get free prescriptions.” is incorrect when those with a low income and no or little savings can.

Not all kids are able to make up the shortfall with a job. My eldest is intellectually very bright but has ADD, autism and dyspraxia. No way could he work and study.

I was a student at the start of loans. My parents refused to give me any money and (due to abuse) I left home permanently. This meant that my money had to stretch over 52 weeks every year. Even when I did my PGCE, I worked in Royal Mail every day from 4pm, got home at 10.30, made my dinner, then did my work until at least midnight before getting up at 6am. I used to cry from exhaustion. Why should anyone need to live like that to better themselves? What sort of society do you want your kids to grow up in?

Of course it's OK for them to not work during term time in a paid job! Some university courses are quite intensive and students are advised to limit paid work. They can get work experience during the holidays.

He gets a summer holiday though, doesn't he? Why can't he work then?

If he'd not capable of working even in the holidays then there's really no point in him doing a degree.

What is a “low income”? In the example it is defined as less than £106.65 a week which would be much less than loan plus expected parental contribution (whether or not the parents do contribute). I don't think it's clear at all that they be considered to have a low income even without a job.

Student books are a rip off but £100 for a book? What course is that on

What’s the threshold for free prescriptions, I highly doubt a student is working enough to even get above that bracket

There isn’t a set threshold for the low income scheme as everyone’s circumstances are different but “You qualify for full help if your income is less than or equal to your requirements, or is greater than your requirements by no more than half the current English prescription charge.”

They don't have to be working though. The loan is counted as income whether or not they receive it and the expected parental contribution to the loan (whether or not received) is also counted.

Can I get it?

Anyone can apply as long as they don't have savings above the capital limit.

In England and Scotland the capital limit is:

£23,250 for those permanently in a care home
£16,000 for everyone else
In Wales the capital limit is:

£24,000 for those permanently in a care home
£16,000 for everyone else
Any help you are entitled to is extended to your partner as well, if you have one.

so unless a student was earning above 16k then they are entitled

If they have a low income, as the minimum maintenance loan is, and no/low savings they can, which is what the OP is claiming her DD’s position will be.

It will be the full loan because parents are expected to top up the minimum loan. It doesn't matter whether they actually do.

I realised that after I posted, but the point still stands, those on a low income and with no/little savings are eligible for free prescriptions.

Otherwise you can get the prepayment certificates if it’s a concern or requiring multiple items a month

You are looking at the capital limits not the income limit. The capital limit is £16k, the income limit will vary depending on what the student’s “requirements” are, but it is possible for students to be eligible.

The savings must be less than 16K, not the yearly earnings.

I realised that after I posted, but the point still stands, those on a low income and with no/little savings are eligible for free prescriptions.

It is a meaningless point given that we don't know what is considered to be a low income and it certainly doesn't mean that most students are eligible for free prescriptions. It is not clear that any are in reality.

I like to have a book next to me to refer to - I can't stand having to keep changing screen to look at the book. At my Uni the online be platform couldn't be used on a Kindle either. I mean it might be better now, but for me I like physical books. Also good for just keeping in your bag to read/revise when on your break.

It is not meaningless. There are students eligible for free prescriptions due to low income. I didn’t post most would be eligible. If you are that interested in the exact elements that make up the requirements used to determine the threshold I’m sure you could find them on google, but that wouldn’t help unless you know e.g. the amount of rent and whether OP’s DD would be eligible for the disability element etc.

If it wasn’t a possibility for some students the University of Manchester students’ union and other university websites wouldn’t mention it. Neither would NHS websites or other websites.