Petition Increase Student Loans to Decrease Mental Health Problems

We want the government to increase student loans in order to reduce the impact of mental health problems in students caused by the money worries of going to university away from home.

Mental health problems are more common among students than the general population. The Association for University and College Counselling (AUCC) says 3-10% of the student population will have contact with its counselling service in a single year. The main reason for this is that student loans don’t fully cover the costs of accommodation and living.

For 2014/15, the maximum maintenance loan for someone living away from home outside of London is £5,555, and the maximum maintenance loan for someone living away from home in London is £7,751. These amounts barely cover the cost of accommodation let alone the cost of living on top of that, this means that a vast number of students are struggling to get by; this is causing unnecessary stress to students and triggering mental health problems.