Tim Bradshaw (pictured) said restoring the grant system would make a ‘substantial difference’ to diversity on UK campuses
Maintenance grants should be reinstated to support disadvantaged people looking to embark on higher education, a university leader has said.
Tim Bradshaw, the head of a group representing 24 leading universities, said restoring the grant system would make a ‘substantial difference’ to people who were ‘nervous’ about student debt.
The scheme saw students in the UK from low-income families awarded up to £3,387 a year in order to help them meet the cost of living while studying.
However grants were replaced at the start of the 2016/17 academic year by loans which students would start paying back when they earn more than £21,000 a year.
Mr Bradshaw, the head of the Russell Group, told The Independent that such a move would also help promote diversity on campuses across the country.
He said: ‘It could be very targeted, really cost-effective and actually make quite a substantial difference to those from disadvantaged backgrounds who may inherently be very nervous about taking on an additional loan.
‘Actually the grant could work in their favour.
‘I think if you give a grant to those students then you might encourage even more to consider applying for university in the first place and think it is actually something they can really aspire to – and that it won’t land them in additional debt at the end of the day.’
Then-chancellor George Osborne said the changes to the grant system was part of a ‘major set of reforms’ which would be ‘fair to students, fair to taxpayers and vital to secure our long-term economic future’.
But Sir Peter Lampl, founder of the Sutton Trust, said the reforms could put many low and middle income students off the idea of going to university.
The Russell Group – an association of 24 research universities in the UK – has been told it needs ‘to go further’ in improving access for disadvantaged pupils.

Mr Bradshaw, the head of the Russell Group, said that such a move would also help promote diversity on campuses across the country (stock image)
But Mr Bradshaw told the paper that Government ought to make more funding available to achieve this rather than ‘putting all the blame on universities’.
It comes as Britain’s universities chief attacked ‘elitist and regressive’ calls for a cap on student numbers and says more people should go to university in order to boost the economy.
Alistair Jarvis, chief executive at Universities UK, wrote an open letter calling for more skilled graduates after a report found the UK’s economy could benefit from more people of all ages attending university.
There has been calls for the reintroduction of a cap amid worries the job market has too many graduates.
Then chancellor George Osborne abolished the cap in 2015 after the Treasury claimed it would generate an extra £700million in annual income.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph today, Mr Jarvis said: ‘A degree can be life changing, there should be no limits on student numbers.
‘Yet some still argue that we need fewer graduates. Talk of higher education expansion irks those who hark back to the days when university was for the privileged few. These views are elitist, regressive and contrary to the future needs of the nation and individuals.
‘Around 41 per cent of courses… offered by universities have a technical, professional or vocational focus. While these play an important part in meeting skills needs, the wider transferable skills and work experience… should not be underestimated.’