The government has announced that tuition fees are set to increase every year, but it’s the news about maintenance loans that really piqued our interest…
After months of speculation, the government has finally confirmed that tuition fees in England will rise in the 2026/27 academic year.
In fact, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has confirmed that it will rise over the next two years in line with inflation expectations.
After that, the government aims to continue the policy, but universities will need to deliver high educational standards if they want to impose the maximum amount.
Away from the headlines, the government also confirmed what would happen to maintenance loans – unfortunately, that wasn’t the best news.
What’s on this page?
What happens to tuition fees?
The government announced that tuition fees will increase every year in line with expected inflation rates:
- Academic year 2026/27 – £9,790
- Academic year 2027/28 – £10,050
Phillipson also said that in the future they hope to automatically link these increases to the quality of teaching at the university. Universities that are not judged to be providing “high-quality education” will not be allowed to charge the maximum amount.
Initially, these changes were only announced in Englandbut they have since been confirmed Wales also. It will affect both new and current students.
Like Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland also control their own tuition fee caps, and we are waiting to see what changes they will make (if any).
Why are tuition fees rising?
Credit: Euan Munro – Flickr
Many universities across the country are facing financial difficulties of their own.
Although tuition fees are at an all-time high, they have not kept pace with inflation since rising to £9,000 a year in 2012. The rise to £9,535 at the start of 2025/26 was the first increase since 2017, which was itself the first time fees had risen since 2012.
As a result, more universities are losing money, and there has been speculation that some will be forced to close completely. People across the sector agreed that additional money was needed from somewhere, with most prominent figures calling for tuition fees to be increased.
But in “Saving the Student”, We oppose tuition fees. We wanted the government to increase grant funding for universities, rather than increase student debt.
Should you worry about rising tuition fees?
While we oppose tuition fees, we also do not want students (especially prospective students) to panic about this news. There are a few reasons why the impact of this increase may be minimal – or even non-existent for some students:
- Your tuition fees will be covered upfront and in full by the Tuition Loan. This won’t make any difference to how much money you have for university.
- The additional debt will not make any difference to your monthly student loan payments. You only pay back 9% of your earnings above the minimum, so this is only affected by your salary, not the amount you owe.
- Many students won’t end up paying off their student loans in full anyway. More people will pay in full than in the past (the newer payment plan makes this more likely), but there is still a large percentage who will not pay off their original balance, let alone these additional fees.
- If you end up paying in full, it’s likely because you have a high salary. With that in mind, you’ll likely only be making payments a couple of months longer than planned with these new fees.
As we always say: we don’t want UK tuition fees, and we believe there are significant improvements that can be made to the student loan system.
However, as it stands, repayments alone are still broadly manageable and should not be a barrier to university admission.
Maintenance grants return
Before we get to the Maintenance Loan updates, it’s worth noting that the government has also officially announced that the grants are set to return to England.
The rest of the UK never abolished maintenance grants, but in England, new students from 2016 onwards are no longer eligible for them. We always said this was a mistake, and finally they are about to make a comeback.
When do maintenance grants return to England?
The Government has confirmed that maintenance grants will be available from the start of the 2028/29 academic year.
Importantly, the scholarships will not only be offered to new students, but anyone already studying at that stage and meeting the eligibility criteria will also receive funding.
Who will be eligible for the grants?
Maintenance Scholarships in England will only be available to students with a household income of £25,000 per annum or less, and who are studying on one of the selected courses that align with ‘Government and Industrial Strategy’.
The government has not published a final list of courses that will be eligible, so we cannot say with certainty which students will or will not receive funding.
As for the household income threshold, it is important to set an effective value of £25,000 per year by the 2028/29 academic year. By this point, a full-time employee on minimum wage is likely to earn more than £25,000 a year – so if you have a parent working full-time, you won’t get the full grant.
How much maintenance grant will you receive?
The exact amount you get depends on your family income and what year you will go to university:
| Family income | First and second year (annual amount) | Third year onwards (annual amount) |
|---|---|---|
| £25,000 or less | 1000 pounds sterling | £750 |
| £25,001 – £30,000 | £500 – £1000 | £375 – £750 |
| £30,001 or more | no one | no one |
It’s a start, but we would like to see maintenance grants rolled out much more widely than this.
Will maintenance loans increase?
Credit: Inside Creative House – shutterstock
As with tuition fees, maintenance loans in England are set to increase in line with expected inflation rates.
This may sound good at first, but it actually is Exactly the same policy This has been in place for years now.
This approach is seriously flawed, and was widely exposed at the height of the high-cost of living crisis. In “normal” times, inflation expectations are broadly correct – in other words, if economists think inflation will reach 2.5%, they are usually very close.
But as we saw from 2021 to 2023, these forecasts are not always accurate. At its highest levels, inflation was well above 10% – but as forecasts assumed it would be more than 2% or 3%, this is how maintenance loans increased.
In simple terms, Maintenance loans were much lower than the price increasesThe real value of finance (the value when inflation is taken into account) has fallen dramatically.
In 2024/25, students from the poorest backgrounds received loans £1,906 is smaller than it would have been if finance had kept pace with inflation. According to the National Student Money Survey 2025, loans are now below the cost of living by an average of £502 per month.
We have previously campaigned to change this, calling on the government to increase funding above the rate of inflation to make up for years in which funding fell significantly.
The government’s decision to continue with the same failed system, without a significant increase in funding, is hugely disappointing. We will continue to pressure them to change it.
Here’s what our student finance expert, Tom Allingham, had to say about the changes when they were announced:
These higher education announcements are a mixed bag, but once again the tuition increase distracts from the real financial disaster facing students.
From the student’s perspective, the fee increase will be felt more psychologically than financially. We would have much preferred if the extra money came from a government grant increase rather than adding to student debt, but even then, students should realize that it won’t make much of a difference in their payments.
Based on current estimates, the increase is likely to be around £400 per year, and a graduate who is close to paying in full is likely to pay back this extra amount within a few months.
But despite the Education Minister once again stating that maintenance grants will return, it appears that these grants will only be available to a small proportion of students. A welcome start, but far short of what we feel is needed.
Ultimately, the biggest disappointment was the news that maintenance loans would only rise in line with expected inflation. This is a continuation of the flawed policy that reduced funding to a level well below the price rise at the height of the cost of living crisis, and now these cuts in real terms are embedded in the system.
Our National Student Money Survey 2025 found that loans are now falling short of the cost of living by an average of £502 each month. Without a significant increase in this funding above the rate of inflation, students will continue to face unprecedented levels of hardship.
We call on the government to reconsider its decision, and implement a real restoration of student funding to pre-crisis levels.
For more information about fees and funding, see our student finance guide.
