Burden is back on the poorest

Gains made by the poorest in the 2012 reforms have since been reversed, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Changes to loans and grants have wiped out the £1,500 gain accrued to low-earning students as a result of the 2012 reforms, according to a report published on 5 July.

The reforms increased university funding by around 25 per cent, primarily from repayments from richer graduates. Tuition fee loans were increased to meet the £9,000 fee cap and the loan repayment threshold was raised to £21,000. At the same time there were cuts to teaching grant. The move simultaneously reduced the long-run costs of higher education to government by around £3 billion a year, the report states.