Motion NDM6731 as amended:

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:

1. Notes the Welsh Government’s higher education funding review led by Professor Sir Ian Diamond published on 27 September 2016.

2. Notes that the Diamond Review found that living costs were the main barrier to those making the choice about whether to go to university.

3. Welcomes the new student finance package for 2018/19 launched by the Welsh Government which means:

a) students will receive maintenance support equivalent to the National Living Wage—the most generous in the UK;

b) every eligible student can claim a minimum grant of £1,000 that they will not have to pay back; and

c) Wales is the first country in Europe to introduce equivalent maintenance support across full-time and part-time undergraduates. This will be extended to post-graduate students in 2019.