Students: Housing

(asked on 1st July 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to reduce the cost of university accommodation for students.


Answered by
Chris Skidmore Portrait
Chris Skidmore
This question was answered on 8th July 2019

Higher education providers are autonomous bodies, independent from the government; the government plays no direct role in the provision of student residential accommodation.

This government increased living costs support by 10.3% for eligible students on the lowest incomes in 2016/17. Further inflationary increases in living costs support have been made in each academic year since. We have announced a further 2.8% increase in loans for living costs for the 2019/20 academic year – to a record amount. Students from the lowest-income households starting their courses in the academic year 2018/19 had access to the largest ever amounts of cash-in-hand support for their living costs.

The independent panel supporting the Post-18 Review of Education and Funding published their report on 30 May where they recommended the Office for Students examines the costs of student accommodation and works with students and providers to improve the quality and consistency of data about costs, rents, profits and quality. The government has not yet taken decisions on these recommendations but will consider the panel’s proposals and conclude the review at the Spending Review.

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