Lib Dems demand minimum income for students (Aberdeen South & North Kincardine Liberal Democrats)

Aberdeen South & North Kincardine Liberal Democrats <info@aberdeensouthlibdems.org.uk>

Lib Dems demand minimum income for students

March 12, 2009 9:41 AM
Originally published by Scottish Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrat Education spokesperson Margaret Smith MSP will lead calls for proper support for Scottish students.

The Liberal Democrats will use their debating time in the Scottish Parliament to demand the Scottish Government introduce a minimum income guarantee for students.

Commenting ahead of the debate, Mrs Smith said:

"The SNP let down Scottish students when they ditched their key promise to dump the debt.

"Instead of keeping this £2 billion promise, they allocated £30 million to start the process of switching from loans to grants which won't put a single penny into student's pockets right now.

"£30 million is a drop in the ocean when compared to the total cost of this switch, estimated at around £225.7 million.

"But most importantly, this money does nothing to help students struggling with the economic downturn. Rising fuel prices, part time job losses and in some cases loss of parental income are all having an impact. We know university and college hardship funds are coming under real pressure. The majority of them have had to ask for emergency in year funds to cope with students' pleas for help.

"No wonder students think they're getting a raw deal under the SNP.

"We think that a better use of this cash would be to start the process of introducing a minimum income guarantee of £7,000 a year for full-time students beginning with the poorest young students. This would make an immediate difference to thousands of students struggling with financial hardship."

Ends.