It has been revealed this week that Scottish MPs have urged that every student should be allowed to borrow £200 more and the poorest 20,000 to be given an extra £500 in grants.

The Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats created a joint submission to consultation on how £30 million should be spent. The move comes after a letter sent from NUS Scotland president Gurjit Singh, which claimed that students should have more access to better loans.

It stated that hardship in Scotland was for worse than in England and requested the amount Scots can borrow in student loans to be increased. All four support a minimum income promise of £7,000, in a mixture of grants and loans.

Margaret Smith, the Lib Dems' education spokeswoman said: "Scottish ministers need to wake up to the financial dire straits students are in and take action now. Many students are living below the poverty line."

Murdo Fraser, the Tory education spokesman, stated: "The level of student loans on offer means that many students have no choice but to seek borrowing from credit card companies at punitive rates."

Claire Baker, Labour's higher education spokeswoman, commented: "The SNP have failed to grasp the fact student hardship is the overriding concern for students in Scotland."