Today the Chancellor presented the Autumn Budget, which lays out the financial plan for the country.
There were three areas of particular relevance to the National Union of Students:
- Minimum wage increases
- Student Loans
- Graduate Route Visa
Minimum wage and the National Living wage both will increase by 3.9% from April 2027. But by increasing at the same rate, the Labour Government are going back on their manifesto pledge to scrap the discriminatory age based wages.
Responding, Justine Pédussel, National Union of Scotland President said:
“This Government, and this budget, have let down young people. We are facing a cost of living crisis like everyone else, so why are Labour not standing behind their manifesto pledge to bring age based minimum wages in line with the national living wage?
“We know that students and apprentices are struggling with he rising cost of living. We are seeing students skip lectures for work just to be able to cover rent. We are seeing a rise in the number of students accessing foodbanks. There is no young person’s discount on rent and bills, so why do we receive a different wage? If the Government truly wants to address the NEET crisis, then they’d address the barriers to work and focus on growing the economy, rather than punishing young people simply for being young people.”
Where were students loans in that budget? There are three areas we are concerned about:
- - Lack of changes to Plan 2 loans
- - Plan 5 graduates will start repaying when on minimum wage
- - And a single parent household on minimum wage will no longer be eligible for the maximum student maintenance support in England
On Plan 2 loans, National Union of Students England Vice President Lewis Wilson said:
“The Chancellor cares more about pickles than the pickle that young people are in. Student loans, unmentioned. Young people's wages? Rising slower than others.
“To quote the words of the Prime Minister, we are trapped in "student loans that never get smaller" after successive governments have played politics with our mortgage-sized debts. We need to see decisive action from this government in the Comprehensive Spending Review to fix student loans, unfreeze the repayment threshold and make loans fair for students right now.
“The government has a chance to restore hope in every postcode by giving us hope on every campus. Today, they have missed it and let down 5.5million Plan 2 voters."
By our calculations, graduates on Plan 5 will be repaying their student loans while earning minimum wage. The threshold for repayment is currently at £25,000, and an annual salary on minimum wage will be around £25,700. The repayment threshold is expected to rise, but the Government hasn’t confirmed this yet. We have an affected Plan 5 graduate on minimum wage who can comment futher.
Commenting, Lewis Wilson said:
“From April, Plan 5 graduates will be repaying on their students loans when earning minimum wage. This isn’t the deal we were sold, pushing us into poverty while we try to navigate a challenging workforce.
“But the fact remains Plan 5 is a bad deal – graduates are repaying so much earlier and for 40 years. At this point it is a graduate tax in all but name, except the wealthiest can opt out of this one.
“We need wholescale student loan reform. Tinkering around the edges simply isn’t good enough. Hope in every postcode has to mean hope on every campus When will this Government deliver us the hope they have promised us?”
And, again by our calculations, a single parent household on minimum wage will no longer be eligible for the maximum student maintenance support in England which has been frozen for 18 years at £25,000.
Commenting Lewis Wilson said:
“The Chancellor has just increased the burden on parents of their child going to university. How can he be expecting a single parent household on minimum wage to not be eligible to get the maximum maintenance support anymore?
“With the thresholds being frozen, the Government have stealthily increased the burden on the bank of Mum and Dad. At a time of rising costs of everyone, a student going to university will be having a negative financial ripple affect across their family. This is the price of ambition in 2026 – and we need something to change.”
The Budget Report includes changes to the Graduate Route Visa, increasing the visa from 18 months to two years for graduates from some universities.
Responding, Favour Samuel, National Union of Students England President said:
“This Government is sacrificing Britian's international reputation and world-class universities to get down an arbitrary immigration figure. Increasing the Graduate Route Visa to two years, but only for some universities, does nothing but increase the confusion surrounding this scheme. The fix for this problem is clear: take students out of net migration figures, and stop confusing a visa scheme that was once a major draw to international talent.”
