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InQuire
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www.inquirelive.co.uk
30 January 2015
Issue 10.9
Priced out of living • £500+ spent each month to survive • Regular money worries for 57% • 64% of Kent students unemployed • 43% rely upon friends and family Ruby Lyle Newspaper News Editor
It’s time to party on campus See Page 13 Photo by Christopher Bowley
S
tudents at Kent are paying in excess of £500 each month in order to survive, according to an investigation by InQuire. An InQuire Live poll, asking how much students spend per month on rent, food and living expences, found that the majority (33%) of those who took part (in a survey with 116 participants) pay more than £500 each month. If Student Finance England allocated the minimum maintenance loan for 2014/15 of £3,610 each year to a student, who had monthly costs upwards of £500, this would only support this student’s survival for seven months. To sustain this lifestyle after the maintenance loan has been exhausted, and without any additional expenses such as supplies for courses, bills and nights out, students would need to work for 24 hours each week if under 21 year or age, or 19 hours if over. The highest level of minimum wage, for those aged between 18 and 20, is £5.13. If over the age of 21, the minimum wage is £6.50. When living on campus as an undergraduate, the average cost for living in bed and bistro, en-suit accommodation, for 31 weeks only, is £6,298. This is almost twice the minimum maintenance loan given to students. Paying on a monthly basis, it would cost a student
Ginny Sanderson
£524 for food and housing. The 2014 University Living Costs Report produced by Kent Union found that 41% of students had a part time job at UKC, 43% had financial support from family and friends, and that 57% regularly worried about not having enough money to meet basic living expenses. When asked by a separate poll on InQuire Live, “How many paid hours of work do you do a week?”, it showed that the majority of respondents (64%) are not employed. For those who do work, most (15%) work between six and 10 hours per week. When speaking on the matter, second year student, Danielle Thompson, said: “If I lived off my maintenance loan alone, I would only be living on around £500 for the whole year. I’m under 21 and I have to work 18 hours (plus the odd bit of over time), each weekend to be able to live comfortably. Working at my job and spending time on my university work put a lot of strain on me, so much that I’ve had to seek help with my stress levels as they’re now starting to affect my health.”
Photo by attndotcom
To find out more about the issue and a recent petition designed to ensure all Kent Union staff recieve the living wage, visit InQuireLive.co.uk.