Applications are assessed under an ‘additional need’ methodology, which looks at the difference between accepted reasonable expenditure and expected funding. Awards are not meant to cover all of your financial needs; they are a contribution to your funding and students will receive a percentage of the shortfall up to the caps referenced on the relevant fund webpages.

Period of Assessment:

Students’ applications are assessed over the course of a standard 39-week academic year.

Award Amounts:

The maximum award amount will depend on which fund your application is assessed under; however, these range from £250-£6,000 - see the relevant fund webpage for further information. The exact award amount is determined on a case-by-case basis.

Composite Living Costs (CLC):

A set weekly expenditure amount known as CLC will be included in our assessment. This accounts for general living costs such as food, entertainment, mobile phone, contents insurance, utilities, clothing and TV licence costs. Even if your expenditure on these items exceeds this amount, the figure will be capped. The CLC will be determined depending on your circumstances: the rate for students living in halls (or where a student’s rent is inclusive of bills) and students living in the parental home is £155 per week. For students living elsewhere it is £174 per week. For all students, there is an additional amount added weekly for each child dependant.

Students studying on the Graduate Entry Medicine Programme (University of Portsmouth branch campus) have a CLC of £129 per week included. This is due to the reduced cost of living outside of London. 

 Rent/Mortgage:

Due to a limited budget, a rent cap is applied to the assessment based on the accommodation type. For students living in halls expenditure is capped at £250 per week, while for all other students it is capped at £242 per week. No cap is applied for students with dependants. Students living with a partner will have 50% of their rent included in the assessment. Please note that students living in halls of residence pay a weekly amount that is inclusive of bills and Wi-Fi: this is the rationale behind the higher rent cap despite the lower CLC figure. 

Students studying on the Graduate Entry Medicine Programme (University of Portsmouth branch campus) will have a lower rent cap of £165 per week applied. This is due to the reduced cost of living outside of London. 

Travel:

Travel expenses included in the assessment depend on where you live and are based on the 18+ Student Oyster Photocard monthly fare. Costs are capped at zones 1-9 for students living outside of London.

Students studying on the Graduate Entry Medicine Programme (University of Portsmouth branch campus) have a flat rate of £19 per week included. 

Childcare:

Childcare costs can be considered in full if the student is paying a formal childcare arrangement and proof of payment is provided. No cap is applied on the level of expenditure, however if a student is living with a partner, only 50% of the associated childcare costs and 50% of the child dependant(s)' composite living costs will be included as expenditure in their assessment. 

Additional Expenses:

The assessment can only account for additional expenses in exceptional circumstances and these are considered on a case-by-case basis. For example, if a student has rent arrears, these will be considered a priority debt and will be included in the assessment.

A debt is considered priority if non-payment could lead to the loss of your home, your energy supply being disconnected, bailiffs taking your belongings, or imprisonment. For example:

• Secured loans (e.g., loans that are secured against a debtor’s home)
• Rent arrears
• Council tax
• Fines, maintenance and compensation orders
• Charges for utilities
• TV licence
• Tax and VAT
• National Insurance contributions

Bank overdraft facilities and credit card debts are considered non-priority. Where repayment has been planned, is ongoing and the source of credit is no longer in use, non-priority debts could be considered as expenditure depending on individual circumstances.

The assessment considers the expected income a student should be in receipt of, depending on their individual circumstances and course of study. What is included as income in our assessment will differ slightly between the different funds, please see below.

• Student Finance loans and grants.
• Scholarships or bursaries that you are in receipt of (excluding King’s Living Bursary & Care Leaver & Estranged Students Bursary).
• Means-tested benefits (e.g., Tax Credits (working & child), Housing Benefit, Universal Credit, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-based Employment and Support Allowance, Carer's Allowance).
• Parental/partner/family contribution.
• Most assessments will include an assumed income. This is the amount of additional funding students are expected to have and can be made up of parental contributions, means-tested benefits, some scholarships/bursaries, savings etc. The assumed income figure will vary depending on your individual circumstances. Your actual income or the assumed income will be included in the assessment as income, whichever is higher.

Students with dependants:

We will consider any funding received as part of your NHS Bursary or Student Finance funding for childcare costs and parenting, such as the Childcare, Dependant and Parent Learning Allowance from the NHS Bursary, or the Adult Dependants Grant, Parents Learning Allowance and/or a Childcare Grant from Student Finance as income.

The same applies to the Parental Support of £2,000 from the NHS Learning Support available to students on a Nursing and Health Allied course who started after August 2017.

The following case study is designed to give a better idea of some situations in which students are likely to make a successful or unsuccessful application to the hardship funds. Please note, all applications are assessed on an individual basis and if you do require further advice on your own circumstances, please contact the Student Funding Team.

Case study:

John is a second-year undergraduate student funded by Student Finance England (SFE) for his tuition fees and is receiving the maximum maintenance loan available as he is from a low-income household. Based on his household income he also receives the King’s Living Bursary however this is not included in his assessment. John does not receive any financial support from his family. He lives in private accommodation paying £207 per week and lives in zone 3.

Assessment breakdown:

Income	Weekly Amount	Total
Maintenance Loan	-	13,348.00
Assumed Income	-	1,148.00
Total	-	14,496.00
Expenditure	Weekly Amount	Total
Composite Living Cost	174.00	6,786.00
Rent	207.00	8,073.00
Travel Costs (Zones 1-3)	35.10	1,368.90
Total	-	16,227.90
Shortfall		-1,731.90

Between John's income and his expenditure there is a shortfall. John is successful in his application and receives an award of £1039 (shortfall of £1,731.90 is rounded up to the nearest whole £, then 60% of the shortfall is awarded).

Undergraduate students:

• Student Finance loans: the entitlement you would receive if your household income was at the £42,875 threshold which includes any ‘Parental Contribution’. For example, if you are receiving a maintenance loan of £6,649, Student Finance calculates that your parents/sponsor are supposed to contribute £2,965, our assessment will consider the total figure of £9,614.
• NHS bursary: the full entitlement, including any ‘Parental Contribution’. For example, if your Notification of Award letter states that your Basic award is £2,500, and that your Parental/Spouse Contribution is £691, our assessment will consider the total of £3,191.
• Actual parental/partner/family contribution will only be included if it exceeds the assessed contribution already added under your maintenance loan or NHS Bursary.
• Any other scholarship or bursary that you are in receipt of.
• Means-tested benefits (e.g., Tax Credits (working & child), Housing Benefit, Universal Credit, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-based Employment and Support Allowance, Carer's Allowance).
• Most assessments will include an assumed income. This is the amount of additional funding students are expected to have and can be made up of parental contributions, means-tested benefits, some scholarships/bursaries, savings etc. The assumed income figure will vary depending on your individual circumstances. Your actual income or the assumed income will be included in the assessment as income, whichever is higher.

Students with dependants:

We will consider any funding received as part of your NHS Bursary or Student Finance funding for childcare costs and parenting, such as the Childcare, Dependant and Parent Learning Allowance from the NHS Bursary, or the Adult Dependants Grant, Parents Learning Allowance and/or a Childcare Grant from Student Finance as income.

The same applies to the Parental Support of £2,000 from the NHS Learning Support available to students on a Nursing and Health Allied course who started after August 2017.

Postgraduate students:

To be eligible to apply for the KHF, postgraduate students are expected to have made adequate provision to fund their tuition fees and living costs prior to the start of their course.

Based on guidance from the National Association of Student Money Advisors, the assessment considers a ‘notional postgraduate income’ (NPI) which can be from a variety of sources, e.g., Student Finance loan, grants, scholarships, stipends, savings, part-time work, private loans, or additional parent/spouse support where appropriate etc.

The NPI is a set amount of £261 per week for students living outside the parental home, and £220 for students with dependants; a disability preventing work; or those living within the parental home and not contributing to rent. Over the academic year this amounts to £10,179 and £8,580 respectively.

Students will need to have met at least 75% of the set NPI to qualify for assistance from the fund. Our assessment will either include the NPI or the actual income, whichever is higher.

The following case studies are designed to give a better idea of some situations in which students are likely to make a successful or unsuccessful application to the hardship funds. Please note, all applications are assessed on an individual basis and if you do require further advice on your own circumstances, please contact the Student Funding Team.

Case study: Undergraduate student in receipt of student finance

Jenny is an undergraduate student in her final year of a BA degree. She receives a tuition fee loan and maintenance loan from SFE. Her parents have a higher household income that makes her ineligible for the maximum amount of maintenance loan or the King’s Living Bursary. Jenny’s parents are also supporting another child at university and are only able to make a small contribution of £10 per week towards her living expenses. She had a job over the summer however she needs to concentrate on her final year at university and is unable to keep up this part-time work. Jenny applies for the KHF as she is struggling to pay her day-to-day living costs after spending her maintenance loan and the money from her parents on her rent.

Assessment breakdown:

Income	Weekly Amount	Total
Max Maintenance Loan	-	9,711.00
Maintenance Loan Awarded	-	6,647.00
Maintenance Loan Parental Contribution	-	3,064.00
Actual Parental Contribution	10.00	390.00
Calculated Parental Contribution	-	0.00
Assumed Income (Final Year Rate)	-	383.00
Total	-	10,094.00
Expenditure	Weekly Amount	Total
Composite Living Cost	174.00	6,786.00
Rent	205.00	7,995.00
Travel Costs	35.10	1,368.90
Total	-	16,149.90
Shortfall	-	-6,055.90

Between Jenny's income and her expenditure there is a shortfall. Jenny is successful in her application and receives an award of £3,633 (shortfall of £6,055.90 is rounded up to the nearest whole £, then 60% of the shortfall is awarded).

Case study: Postgraduate student in receipt of student finance

Ben is a postgraduate student studying a master’s course. He has taken out a master’s loan from SFE of £12,471; his tuition fees are £12,468, therefore none of his postgraduate loan is included as income. He had savings of £5,000 prior to starting his course. His parents support his costs with £20 per week. To supplement this, he has secured a part-time job in retail for 20 hours at minimum wage. The NPI for Ben is £248 per week. As Ben’s part-time income, savings and parental contributions exceed the NPI, we include the actual amount.

Assessment breakdown:

Income	Weekly Amount	Total
Postgraduate loan remaining after tuition fees	-	0.00
Part-time work	228.80	8,923.20
Parental contribution	20.00	780.00
Savings	-	5,000
Total	-	14,703.20
		144% of the NPI
Expenditure	Weekly Amount	Total
Composite living cost	174.00	6,786.00
Rent	220.00	8,580.00
Travel costs	29.20	1,138.80
Total	-	16,504.80
Shortfall	-	-1,801.60

As Ben’s actual income exceeds the NPI, the full amount is included. There is a shortfall and Ben receives an award of £1,081.00 (shortfall of £1,801.60 is rounded up to the nearest whole £, then 60% of the shortfall is awarded).