Students out of Wales could lose £1k under Plaid

Welsh students studying elsewhere in the UK could lose a £1,000 grant if Plaid Cymru runs the next Welsh government, the party has confirmed.

Under the current student loans system, all Welsh students receive at least a £1k living costs grant, and potentially more depending on their household income, wherever they choose to study in the UK.

They can then choose whether to take out a means-tested living costs loan to top it up to a set limit, based on whether they study in or outside of London or live at home.

The Welsh Conservatives said the plan reflected "extremely divisive nationalist ideology" and removed "freedom of choice".

Plaid has been calling for a review of higher education funding after Cardiff, Bangor and University of South Wales were among Welsh institutions announcing job cuts.

The party launched its plan for the Welsh economy on Monday promising a 'new deal' for university funding and a focus on supporting Welsh-owned businesses to grow.

Current polling suggests Labour, Plaid Cymru and Reform are neck and neck ahead of the next Senedd election in May 2026.

The party's economy spokesperson Luke Fletcher said: "We've got a situation right now where students are going across the border to England and we're in effect subsidising English universities when Welsh universities are really struggling.

"We have to find a balance, we have to find a way of retaining some of that cash in Wales to be able to support our own Welsh universities in their own research and their own innovation.

"It's about making sure we are not seeing that money flowing out of Wales, which is one of the primary issues of the Welsh economy - wealth and profit generated in Wales is flowing out of Wales and we have to find a way of retaining that."

In its economy plans the party cited a study which suggests that removing the £1,000 grant and halving the total amount of grants paid to Welsh students studying in the rest of the UK would allow them to 'top-up' funding paid by Welsh government to Welsh universities by up to £34m.

If Plaid's plans became a reality then it could lead to accusations that students wanting to leave Wales were either being treated unfairly or could were having their options limited.

Fletcher said that no-one would be stopped from studying outside of Wales, but that the "narrative" that to be successful you had to leave Wales needed to be challenged.

The Welsh government says it is currently involved in discussions with ministers in Westminster over the UK government's review of higher education funding.

In a statement, they said: "It's important that people have the right to choose where they study, and Wales has the highest levels of non-repayable grant support provided to those most in need.

"Cutting student grants would mean cutting living costs support for students.

"We are currently undertaking an evaluation of the student support package we offer. However, we do not want to make it harder for any student to be able to go to the university of their choice"

Welsh Conservative shadow cabinet secretary for education, Natasha Asghar, said: "This is an extremely divisive nationalist ideology that removes the freedom of choice from Welsh students looking to study at the UK's best universities."