Written question asked by Gordon Marsden (Labour) on Monday, 9 May 2016, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 12 May 2016 (named day). It was answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone (Conservative) on Thursday, 12 May 2016 on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Students: Grants

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what measures the Government has (a) planned and (b) implemented to monitor the effects of abolishing student maintenance grants on students that the equality impact analysis identified would be disproportionately affected by that policy.

Answer: Replacing maintenance grants with loans for new full-time students in 2016/17 will ensure the higher education system remains financially sustainable whilst enabling the sector to make progress in widening participation amongst those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Government will continue to monitor and evaluate a wide range of data and evidence relating to the Higher Education sector. This will include data on application and participation rates from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) and the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), as well as take-up and repayment rates of student financial support using Student Loans Company (SLC) data.

Secondary information