Treasury chief backs £2m higher education fund

Tuesday 19 July 2016

Treasury Minister Alan Maclean has defended a controversial move to raise the threshold for higher education grants from £91,000 per family to £99,000.

Up to 90 more students could receive grants due to the proposed changes, which are included in the States’ Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP).

Senator Maclean insists the increase, costing £2million, is designed to keep more students in higher education - despite the fact that the MTFP has cut millions of pounds from other services.

The Treasury Minister is convinced that the move will benefit Jersey’s economy in the long run - even though it means more higher earning families will be able to claim grants from the States.    

Senator Maclean said: “The £99,000 threshold is household earnings. It is really about recognising that we need to get as many of our talented young people to come and contribute with the economy. 

“We have an even bigger issue with immigration than in the UK. The UK has immigration issues and we have them even more so, which is why we want to bring more of our young, talented people back to the island rather than importing more labour. That is part of the strategy behind supporting people in going to higher education. 

“It is not about handing out grants for the good of it. It is about bridging the gap so that people can afford to go to higher education.

“It’s not providing money for better off people, it is providing an extra £2m for higher education. The other reason we have included that is because higher education funding has been frozen for a number of years. The £2m we wish to put in is making up for the inflationary gap which has been in place due to the freezing. 

“What that is being used for is to get more people at the bottom end who would struggle to afford higher education who can now get some support. More people will get support from us and that is important.” 

About 90 more students could receive the full student grant from 2017 as a result of the extra funding.

The States student grant is made up of two elements; tuition fees paid to the university and a maintenance grant for living expenses. The scheme is means-tested according to how much the student’s household earns.

If the funding is agreed by States members in the MTFP debate in September, the Education Department will raise the household income thresholds and increase the maintenance grant so that more students receive financial help. The changes will come into effect in September 2017.