Taking our Cost of Living lobbying national.
The Cost of Living is still immensely impacting our lives and we know our students are struggling with the impact of it all. Millions of households have already been hit by rising inflation and stagnating wages, and students are no exception.
Within UCLan, both the Students’ Union and the University have put things in place to support students over the last few months. So far, as your Students’ Union we have supported the free food provisions on campus, brought in microwaves to the Union Café for students to use and introduced a sports hardship fund to support those struggling to access our activities. We have also continued to work closely with the University and their support services.
We know this work on campus can be incredibly helpful, however it will always be limited as it’s change at a national and government level that needs to happen to truly remove the stresses and struggles the Cost of Living brings.
We recently sent a letter to Sir Mark Hendrick, MP for Preston to share our concerns and ask for significant change to happen. The letter we sent has now been forwarded on directly to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
We have added a copy of the letter below, but our main recommendations were:
- Increase student maintenance support in line with inflations.
- Reform Universal Credit to ensure fair access for students.
- Cap student rents to prevent a homelessness crisis.
- Cap public transport fares to allow students to commute to lectures.
- Provide funding to education providers to deliver improved hardship funds.
- Adjust maintenance loan thresholds to reflect changes to family income.
Raham Odjegba, Students’ Union President says: “We as a Students’ Union have started connecting with our local and regional MP’s. We are urging them to advocate for the needs of students here at UCLan. We realise the Cost of Living crisis will impact each student in different ways, and we aim to support you in navigating through this difficult time.”
“We look forward to receiving a further response from Sir Mark Hendrick MP and the Chancellor of the Exchequer.”
If you would like to talk to us about the work we’re doing for the Cost of Living, please get in touch – yourunion@uclan.ac.uk.
