The UK student loan system is failing students in two fundamental ways.

2. maintenance loans are calculated unfairly, based on household income rather than a student’s real financial need or actual living costs. Maintenance loans are calculated based on household income, not on a student’s actual financial need or real living costs. The result? A system that assumes families can simply “fill the gap” — when many absolutely cannot.

2. Repayment terms are out of date, they have become unequal now also meaning lower earners often pay more over their lifetime than higher earners, simply because they never earn enough to clear the debt before interest accumulates. The government is turning a blind eye to this.

Together, these flaws are creating a system that limits opportunity, increases inequality, and places a disproportionate financial burden on young people.

1. An Unfair System from the Start – Maintenance Loans

Right now, thousands of students across the UK are being held back by a student loan system that no longer reflects real life.

Maintenance loans are calculated using household income, not what students actually need to live. The system assumes families can — or will — “fill the gap” when loans fall short. Many families simply cannot afford to do this.

This is not a fair or sustainable way to fund higher education.

 
What’s going wrong?

• Students from blended families, separated households, or so-called “middle-income” families are being disproportionately penalised.
• Families supporting more than one student at university
• Households with child maintenance obligations
• Families carrying debt, rising housing costs, and high living expenses
• Students living with a step-parent whose income is counted, regardless of responsibility or affordability or whether they are supporting other ‘children’ in university from a previous relationship etc.
  Students benefitting from a full loan where they are also supported by a parent not living in the students home.
• Ignores debt
• Ignores outgoings

In many cases, students qualify only for the minimum maintenance loan — an amount that often doesn’t even cover accommodation, let alone food, travel, books, or utilities.

Meanwhile, other students in different household arrangements may receive the full maintenance loan, even when there is greater financial support available elsewhere. This inconsistency is deeply unfair.

 
Why does this matter?

Because students are being forced to:

• Take on unsustainable part-time work
• Students and those who live with them are forced to accumulate significant debt
• Or abandon university altogether
• Many students cannot find paid work to bridge the funding gap.
• Some are leaving university with thousands of pounds of debt and no qualification unable to fund thair accomodation costs etc not because they failed academically, but because the system failed them financially. Remember ot everyone has a university they can travel to from their home etc

This is not equal opportunity.
It is financial gatekeeping.

 
2. Unfair for Life – Interest Rates and Repayment Terms

It’s not just how much students receive that’s unfair — it’s how the loan works after they graduate.

Student loan interest is linked to inflation and can reach around 6% interest or more, meaning debt can grow faster than wages. Graduates repay 9% of earnings above the repayment threshold, which has been frozen for years, pulling lower and middle earners into repayment earlier.

Crucially, lower earners often pay more over their lifetime than higher earners. This is not what was brought in by Tony Blair in 1999! 

Higher earners are more likely to clear their debt and stop paying interest
Lower earners often never repay the full balance, meaning they continue paying for decades until the loan is written off.
You may think well don’t go to university then? Think about Teachers and Nurses, we NEED these careers and people in our communities. These are highly affected by this.
Student loans have turned into a long-term graduate tax, and not a fair one either. Rather than a fair loan, it places the heaviest burden on those least able to afford it.

 
What needs to change?

We are calling for a fundamental overhaul of the student loan system.

Maintenance loans should not be means-tested against household income.
Students are adults and should not be assessed based on parents or step-parents.
Loan amounts must reflect living costs and at least cover the minimum!
Consider a portion covering accommodation should be paid directly to landlords, with a clear living allowance paid to students.
Another issue is Guardians of students having to Guarantor students livingarranegments. We for example have had a to guarantor a house for our children and as it is a 6 room house each student needs guaranteeing to the FULL cost of the house £45,000!  The living situation is another minefield linked to all this.

If the student repays the loan, then the student — not their household — should be assessed.
The current approach makes no sense, places unfair pressure on families, and limits students’ futures.

 
This is a call for fairness

Higher education should not depend on family structure, household income calculations, or repayment rules that punish lower earners.

Please sign this petition and help push for a fairer, more inclusive student loan system — one that gives every student a genuine chance to succeed.

📢 Please share this with journalists, campaigners, or news outlets.
📝 Please write to your MP — my MP, Andrew Cooper, supports reform but progress needs public pressure.
📩 Don’t forget to confirm your signature by email, or it won’t count.

Thank you for your support.

https://x.com/BBCNewsnight/status/2016650993576952072?s=20