Motion passed November 2021 (Student Council)

 

FVSA  notes:

1. That much has been done recently to financially assist Scotland’s most vulnerable students, the clearest example of this being the Care Experienced bursary.
2. That the bursary exists because care experienced students cannot consistently rely on familial support during their studies, exposing them to financial risk.
3. That estranged students, those who have no contact with parents due to a breakdown in relationship, death or other unfortunate circumstances, face the same lack of familial support as care experiences students.
4. That estranged students are often disproportionately from marginalised groups, such as the LGBT+ community.

 

FVSA believes:

1. That estranged students face a number of challenges, but many of them stem from a lack of access to financial support. Whether it is an inability to evidence parental income to SAAS, having no parents or family - or none willing - to assist them, or their exclusion from new support structures, the system has clearly failed them.
2. That many solutions to estranged students’ problems already exist, and that FVSA and FVC must play a role in identifying and applying them.

 

FVSA resolves:

1. To support StandAlone in their calls for support on the same terms as the Care Experienced bursary for estranged students, and that estranged students should not graduate with more debt than those with parental support due to their independent student status.
2. To work with StandAlone and other groups advocating for estranged students to better understand the extent of their needs, identify potential solutions and promote the relationship within the sector.