50,000 more students to receive university grants

A £400m-a-year expansion in student grants was announced yesterday in an effort to underline Gordon Brown's commitment to removing barriers to young people from poorer homes going to university.

About 50,000 more students will now qualify for full maintenance grants of £2,800 a year as a result of a government decision to give them to any young person whose family earns less than £25,000 a year - a 50 per cent increase on the present figure. In addition, anyone whose family earns up to £60,000 will qualify for at least a proportion of the grant, bringing the number of students receiving grants to two thirds of the intake.

TheSecretary of State for Universities, John Denham, also revealed that graduates would now be entitled to a five-year pause in the repayment of student loans if they were purchasing their first home or starting a family.

The moves were largely welcomed by student leaders, universities and opposition MPs, although they warned that many young people would still be in debt as a result of the fees.

Mr Brown first made clear his intention to widen participation in higher education in 2000 in a tirade against Oxford University, which refused to admit a North Tyneside schoolgirl, Laura Spence, to a medical course, despite the fact she was expected to get five A grades at A-level.

He said yesterday: "I want every individual who has the potential and qualifications to succeed in higher education to be given the opportunity to succeed, whatever their family background.

"No one should be held back from realising their potential by fears that they will not be able to afford to go to university, or that they will graduate with unmanageable levels of debt."

Professor Drummond Bone, the president of Universities UK, the body which represents vice-chancellors, welcomed the move. He said: "This extra money from the Government will tackle head-on any perception that financial barriers make it impossible for poorer students to go into higher education."

The measures will be introduced in September next year.