UKRI to increase PhD stipends to at least National Living Wage

Rejected 21 signatures

What the petition asks

UKRI should provide immediate financial relief to PhD students facing a cash crisis due to increasing cost of living and commit to long-term increase in stipends to match National Living Wage, or London Living Wage where appropriate, at the very least.

PhD students are actively contributing to national efforts in research and innovation. They face increasing pressure to deliver quality research, yet are receiving insufficient and unsustainable stipends. Due to the cost of living crisis, PhD students are struggling to cope. Many are forced to seek supplementary income from family or friends, or by working part-time jobs on top of full-time PhDs. This negatively impacts not only the quality of their PhD work, but their overall wellbeing.

Why it was rejected

It asked for something that is not the responsibility of the UK Government or Parliament.

The decision on how much the UKRI designate to stipends for students is an operational one for the UKRI and not that of the Government or Parliament.

You can read more about the UKRI minimum stipend requirements here: https://www.ukri.org/councils/mrc/career-and-skills-development/mrc-studentships/minimum-amounts-for-studentship-stipends-and-allowances/

Timeline

28 Jun 2022	Petition opened for signatures
5 Jul 2022	Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 21

Status Rejected

Rejected 5 Jul 2022

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