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Welcome to our money advice page where you can find useful information and resources to help navigate your way around university life. This may be your first time living away from home and managing a budget. It is important that you are proactive with your budgeting, particularly with increases in prices putting pressure on the cost of living, so knowing what support is available and where to get value for money is more important than ever.

Money Advice

The LIPA Bursary provides a cash award in each year that eligible students study with us.

In 2024 we plan to offer a LIPA bursary of £560 (annual cash award) to all of our students from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland who can demonstrate to us that they are in receipt of the full maintenance loan allowance. Anyone who can demonstrate this, should receive a bursary of £560 in February of each year of their studies, provided they are still in attendance.

The LIPA bursary is administered by the Student Loan Company (SLC) on behalf of LIPA. Eligible students do not need to apply, as this is an automatic process.

LIPA offers an annual £1,000 Care Leaver bursary to students who are under 25 and who can demonstrate that they have been in care prior to their 16th birthday for a period of six months or more. This bursary is offered in recognition that care leavers may need assistance towards their accommodation costs for vacation periods.

Bursaries are awarded, in two payments, to qualifying full-time UK undergraduates, for each year of their course of study with us subject to satisfactory academic progress.

Young people who have a permanent lack of contact with their parents may have additional considerations when applying and studying in higher education. The Student Wellbeing and Disability Service can assist in a range of issues, either prior to enrolling with us or as an enrolled LIPA student.

When applying for funding from Student Finance England, it is possible to claim independent status due to estrangement from parents. This means that your personal household income will be taken in to consideration for the means-tested elements, instead of your parent's income. To do this you will need to submit evidence to support the claim. Examples of proof you could provide are:

  • A letter from a social worker (if you have one)
  • If you have claimed Income Support when you were under 18 years, a letter from your local Job Centre Plus office showing that you received benefits because of your situation
  • If your relationship with your parents broke down while you were at school or college, a letter from an advice worker, personal tutor or teacher, confirming your circumstances
  • If you have visited your doctor because of problems relating to your broken relationship with your parents, a letter to confirm your circumstances

If you need help proving estrangement, you can contact wellbeing.disability@lipa.ac.uk

If you are interested in enquiring about job opportunities at LIPA, please see contact details below:

Bar

bar@lipa.ac.uk

Front Of House (stewarding, fire officer, etc)

Venue.services@lipa.ac.uk

Tech Services

Tech.services@lipa.ac.uk

LRC

LRC.student@lipa.ac.uk

Open Days Tour Guides and Student Ambassadors

marketing@lipa.ac.uk or opendays@lipa.ac.uk

Widening Participation Ambassador and Workshop Leader (for students who are already trained as Student Ambassadors)

wp@lipa.ac.uk

Auditions (for students who are already trained as Student Ambassadors)

h.ashton@lipa.ac.uk

Please note, if you would like to apply for a role within the Widening Participation team, you will have ideally worked (for at least a year) as a general LIPA student ambassador first. This means you will have already completed basic training and gained some experience of LIPA’s key messages. However, if you have other previous experience of workshop delivery with young people, we may consider you earlier. The Widening Participation team also runs a ‘Back to School’ initiative where students are recruited to go back to their old school or college and share their experiences of studying at LIPA with relevant groups. This activity typically happens in the summer. Students interested in this should contact: backtoschool@lipa.ac.uk. All Widening Participation roles are subject to a satisfactory DBS check.

You can also contact recruit@lipa.ac.uk where a member of staff can direct you to the best contact, depending on the time of year, when work will be busy.

LIPA understands that most students find themselves on a tight budget, so managing your money is really important to cover everything you need. UCAS has developed Budgeting Advice to help you to learn how to budget properly and save money at university.

We know that students may find it difficult to manage the challenges of the rising cost of living. Students can access support from LJMU Money Advice Service if they are struggling to budget for the cost of living.

Financial challenges can be a significant cause of anxiety, affecting your mental health, ability to focus on study and general wellbeing. If financial challenges are affecting you, you can make an appointment with a member of the Wellbeing and Disability Service, and we can discuss support we can put in place to support your wellbeing. 

Wellbeing Referral

Your local foodbank can provide at least three days' emergency food and support to people in crisis. If you do need to use food banks, they are here to help and they are accessible to all.

To access a foodbank, you first need a foodbank voucher. You can get a voucher from your:

  • health visitor
  • social worker
  • local citizens advice or charity organisation

You then need to take your foodbank voucher to your closest foodbank. Please see below for further details:

You can also find out more information about Liverpool Foodbanks on the Liverpool City Council website.

If you need further help, please call or email the foodbank directly to discuss how you can access a referral.

Please note, foodbanks are only able to offer short-term, emergency support. Going forward, why not visit your local food pantry or community supermarket? Here you can shop at significantly reduced prices. Please see some helpful links below

The cost of food has risen significantly. Below are some useful tips on how to reduce your costs.

  • Batch cook where possible. Having meals prepared for the week can also help reduce convenience food purchases when you are busy with your studies.
  • Consider sharing your food shopping bill with housemates to avoid duplication and waste. You could share the cost of key items such as milk, bread, butter, eggs and pasta for example.
  • Shop at the end of the day when certain foods are more likely to be reduced.

There are also useful websites and apps that help reduce food bills:

You can find further signposting for money advice on the Wellbeing and Disability Resource Hub