We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum... Read More »
We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
hardship fund
Options

driver24ian
Posts: 63 Forumite


my other half who is in her 3rd year of a BeD in primary school teaching has been refused the hardship fund as we dont need it apparently.
We have a 3 year old who goes to nursery full time and the funds are mainly for this. The panel have looked at our incomings and outgoings and decided that my take home pay of £1550 per month give or take 50 pounds is enough to pay for everything including the nursery (£700 per month).
There is no way that i can pay that plus all the bills etc. Our fugures and eveidence we sent to the hardship fund panel clearly shows we/i have very little left over having just paid for the monthly bills and mortgage let alone the nursery fees.
My other half is gutted as she it seems to have wasted 4 years of her studies to be showed the door and left with 20k debt.
any advice greatly received, Ian
We have a 3 year old who goes to nursery full time and the funds are mainly for this. The panel have looked at our incomings and outgoings and decided that my take home pay of £1550 per month give or take 50 pounds is enough to pay for everything including the nursery (£700 per month).
There is no way that i can pay that plus all the bills etc. Our fugures and eveidence we sent to the hardship fund panel clearly shows we/i have very little left over having just paid for the monthly bills and mortgage let alone the nursery fees.
My other half is gutted as she it seems to have wasted 4 years of her studies to be showed the door and left with 20k debt.
any advice greatly received, Ian
0
Comments
-
Does your OH not have any student income?Gone ... or have I?0
-
yes she does but gets no help towards the childcare, basically she gets everything a standard student without a child gets.0
-
driver24ian wrote: »yes she does but gets no help towards the childcare, basically she gets everything a standard student without a child gets.
So what is your total household income, including benefits (TC, CB etc)?Gone ... or have I?0 -
£1550 plus the student funding package is a decent amount of money. Have you looked at the DFW and Oldstyle Boards for help with cutting your outgoings?0
-
often the hardship fund goes to people in immediate need due to unforeseen circumstances - they might argue that in your case, this is not a new outgoing.... they have a limited pot and too many applications...
is there any option of a university nursery? might be cheaper?:happyhear0 -
The hardship fund is for students who are in sudden hardship, not for general living expenses. If your wife is in 3rd year, and your daughter is 3, you probably have been paying nursery fees for at least 2 years already, so it's not like an emergency expense because e.g. her usual carer is in hospital or something.
Like most other funding these days, the hardship funds for Unis have been slashed, so the Finance Officer will want to make sure there is still some in the pot for those in genuine hardship, and not for normal expenses. It could be viewed that if your wife is given money towards nursery fees, then others in similar circumstances would then be eligible and then there is no money left for anyone else in genuine hardship.
You might be entitled to get child tax credits (which includes an element for childcare) if you've not already applied.0 -
oompahloompah wrote: »You might be entitled to get child tax credits (which includes an element for childcare) if you've not already applied.
Only if both are working at least 16 hours a week.
OP - does your 3 year old receive the free 15 hours for 3 year olds? Is your wife entitled to the child care grant from SFE?Sealed pot challenge #232. Gold stars from Sue-UU - :staradmin :staradmin £75.29 banked
50p saver #40 £20 banked
Virtual sealed pot #178 £80.250 -
It's a bit misleading to say you have to survive on what's left after the bills are paid from your wage.
You also have tax credits, child benefit, 25% reduction in council tax, student loan and the full package of student grants.
That adds up to considerably more than £1500 a month.
You need to focus on reducing your outgoings, including different childcare if need be, rather than looking to obtain funds meant for students in severe hardship.0 -
my previous uni (I transferred this year) had two pots of money: a hardship fund and and Access to Learning Fund (A2LF). the A2LF was designed especially for students who needed a bit of cash to help with living expenses, and wasn't only for students finding themselves in sudden hardship. my current uni has this as well, so maybe investigate if it's available at your OH's uni?
the application was fairly easy, just involved filling out a form, giving them the last 3 months of bank statements (and explaining any purchases over £100 (not too strict: I managed to justify a Glastonbury ticket)), and waiting a couple of weeks.
hope that helps!0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 350.9K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 453.5K Spending & Discounts
- 243.9K Work, Benefits & Business
- 598.8K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 176.9K Life & Family
- 257.2K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.6K Read-Only Boards