Parental contribution for DS at university - are we giving enough?

[Cloudcuckoo50]

DS is just about to start his second year. He qualifies for the minimum maintenance loan of approx 3,700 per year, (due to parental income) plus of course his tuition fees loan.

This maintenance loan more or less covers his accommodation costs (non-catered). We then give him £300 per month for living costs - food, socialising etc. He does not work whilst away at uni but has a bar job when he is home which he uses to fund festivals and holidays with friends.

He has mentioned that he finds £300 quite tight to live on and others seem to have a lot more money than him. The obvious thing is for him to get a job but his degree is quite intense so we don't want to insist on this.

His uni location is in South Wales.

Can I ask parents in a similar situation what they contribute to their DCs as I would like to check that we are contributing a fair amount?

I suppose my son doesn't get a maintenance loan, I don't think they exist in Scotland. He does get his tuition fees paid though so I'm just paying his maintenance and his dad (divorced) is sorting out his rent. He paid his own way over the summer with his job.

That sounds more than reasonable considering his rent is covered.

My parents didn't give me anything (actually, they paid for my bus travel card). I managed.

My parents were very generous so i suppose that has influenced me. I was at college in the days when you could covenant money paid to your sprog and claim the tax back but they always gave me the tax as well.
I loved my uni years and have worked since finishing college so I suppose that makes me a bit soft on him as he's doing a vocational course so likely to be working when he finishes (unless he wants to idle away a few years doing a PhD but he hates writing and has dyslexia so probably won't bother)

I wish DS's loan covered his bloody rent. His non-catered hall is £5800!
We're paying that and he can live off the loan so we won't be giving him another penny.

DD1 gets the minimum loan which just covers her rent. We give her £400 per month for nine months. When she comes home for the summer she works. She does some casual bar work or occasional jobs in the student union in term time. Her course is also very full on so only casual work suits. It's plenty. She is quite careful in her spending habits and has saved money.

I'd say £75 a week after accommodation is perfectly reasonable and actually pretty generous. I get a bit of my loan left over which is 35 pw and my parents give me 30 a week on top of that, and I do try and save. I can't live Like a millionaire no, but I do have enough for the necessities plus treats such as buying a sandwich/coffee once or twice a week, 1/2 nights out a week, phone bill, the occasional trip into town for cinema/shopping trip. You certainly couldn't buy everything you fancied (who can) but can live pretty comfortably. I'm in West Wales at uni, but some of my friends go to uni in south Wales and manage on around 60 a week. If he's struggling, maybe sit him down and ask him where the money goes - is he Eating out numerous times a week for eg? In my 2nd year I got myself into a state as I had the maximum loan in 1st year and continued spending like that even when my loan had gone down. Finished my 1st term of 2nd year 500 in overdraft.

Thank you all. Reading through all your replies I don't think we are too far off the mark. I certainly don't want him to scrimp and save - I want him to be able to buy healthy food and essentials as well as being able to socialise and enjoy university life. He is quite careful with money but he is also quite a socialite!
We probably could give him a little bit more but with other DCs we are finding life rather expensive at the moment. I think we will help him out with the odd essential purchase e.g. Sports clubs, new coat/shoes etc. and as one poster suggested I may also do a Tesco grocery delivery for him maybe once or twice a term. I am also sending him back with a giant food hamper.
My instinct is to give him more but I also want him to appreciate the value of money.

We are also lucky that he is in South Wales as student accommodation is relatively inexpensive. As for what he spends his money on, I fear that a fair bit of that may be beer...

Well, £300 sounds very generous to me. Our son, starting his second year, gets £50 a week from us for living expenses (on top of that we also top up his minimum maintenance loan as it does not cover his self catering accommodation).

Admittedly our son is not a sociable boy but even so, the £50 a week was way more than he needed (his words). He had about £700 saved up by the end of the year, though I am not sure what his savings were before he left for uni.

DD on minimum loan, s/c accommodation more than that. We will pay accommodation, she will live off loan in term time. That means allowing herself around £90 per week. Also has small scholarship in first year, but not factoring that in fir weekly living, as will have some up front costs. We gave her a bit extra for freshers also.
Worked p/t past year so has some savings also. Will work in holidays, but probably not in term time.
Train home will be about £30 return, we will pay that too if she is struggling. Don't envisage more than one w/e home a term, and holidays.