When it is next scheduled to review the Student Awards Agency Scotland bursary and loan payment and threshold limits and, in light of the i…

Following recommendations made by the independent review of student support, from 2019-20, we increased and expanded access to further (FE) and higher education (HE) bursaries for students from the lowest incomes. As part of that, we raised the HE bursary income threshold from £19,000 to £21,000, as well as providing increased bursary support for the poorest young students in HE which increased from £1,875 per year to £2,000. We also increased bursary support for the poorest independent students in HE from £875 per year to £1,000. Further to this, from 2018-19, the care-experienced bursary was increased to £8,100 per year across FE and HE. We are also raising the student loan repayment threshold to £25,000 from April 2021.
We are committed to ensuring that no student faces financial hardship over the summer months as a result of Covid-19 and have provided a package of new measures to support students until the start of the next academic year when bursary, grant and loan payments will begin again. The First Minister announced on 11 June that the Scottish Government has brought forward early access to £11.4 million of Higher Education discretionary funds, which HE students can apply to their college or university for access to this financial support.
This package builds on our £5 million emergency support plan for FE and HE students which was announced in April. There are no current plans to review bursary and loan thresholds in light of the summer support package we have provided which allows for immediate access to financial support for students experiencing hardship.