This morning I questioned the Chancellor on student support, reminding them that while students in Northern Ireland receive £500 in Covid-19 support each, and student hardship funding in Wales and Scotland is equivalent to over £300 per student and £80 per student respectively, his support for students in England does not measure up – at only £36 per student.

I urged him to meet with me and the other members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Students, to discuss the recommendations in our report, including substantial student hardship funding, support on rents for unused accommodation, funding for universities to deliver programmes to make up for lost learning experiences, and extensions to research studentships.

I was pleased the Chief Secretary to the Treasury agreed to meet us to discuss the issue in more detail, and I hope this signifies a recognition in Government of the raw deal that students have been subject to over the last year.

This generation will be relied on to pay the costs of the pandemic – we must support them now with hardship funding, and with extra education programmes that equip them for their next steps. The Treasury should act now to futureproof both the sector, and this cohort of students.

Watch my question here: