Welsh Ministers have signed new regulations that reset tuition fee caps and student finance amounts for academic year 2026/27. The Education (Student Finance) (Amounts) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2026 were made on 20 January 2026 and come into force on 12 February 2026, according to legislation.gov.uk.
The instrument amends five frameworks: the Higher Education (Amounts) (Wales) Regulations 2015; the Education (Student Support) (Wales) Regulations 2017 and 2018; the Education (Postgraduate Doctoral Degree Loans) (Wales) Regulations 2018; and the Education (Student Support) (Postgraduate Master’s Degrees) (Wales) Regulations 2019. It applies to financial support for academic years beginning on or after 1 August 2026, with postgraduate provisions applying to courses beginning on or after the same date. In the 2018 Regulations, the new tables are labelled for years beginning on or after 1 September 2026, but the overarching application date in the 2026 instrument remains 1 August 2026.
For regulated institutions in Wales, the 2015 Regulations are updated so each prescribed maximum tuition amount increases from 2026/27. Corresponding changes to the 2018 regime set the full‑time tuition fee loan maximum at £9,790 for 2026/27, aligning loan availability with the revised caps stated in the 2015 Regulations.
The 2018 Regulations also update fee‑loan limits across provider types. The new entries specify full‑time tuition fee loan maxima of either £9,790 or £6,525 depending on provider category, and part‑time limits ranging from £2,875 to £7,335. The precise entitlement depends on whether a course is delivered by a regulated Welsh institution, a provider elsewhere in the UK, or a private institution, as set out in regulation 40 and Table 2 of the 2018 Regulations.
For students covered by the 2017 Regulations, fee‑related loan caps are uprated. The additional fee loan increases include changes from £535 to £790, £265 to £395, £105 to £155 and £80 to £115. The new private institution fee loan limits move to £6,525, £3,260, £1,305 and £975. The accelerated graduate entry fee loan rises from £285 to £540.
Maintenance support under the 2017 Regulations is increased. Illustrative maxima for loans for living costs move from £6,438 to £6,565, from £11,650 to £11,880, from £9,917 to £10,113 and from £8,317 to £8,481 across the different living arrangements and years, with parallel uplifts for students with reduced entitlement. The annual increases used in regulation 50 are set at £98, £188, £205 and £147.
Thresholds used in the 2017 financial assessment are uprated, with key bands moving to £4,924, £8,910, £7,585 and £6,361, and the alternative calculation set at £4,459, £8,114, £6,596 and £5,893. The £50 increment used in dependants’ calculations is increased to £54, and the household‑income disregard in Schedules 5 and 6 rises from £1,150 to £1,175.
Grants for dependants under the 2017 Regulations are uprated. The adult dependants’ grant increases to £3,474, parents’ learning allowance to £1,983, and the childcare grant weekly caps move to £196 for one child and £335 for two or more, with the childcare cost disregard raised from £147 to £150. The ‘B’ elements used in the dependants’ formula are updated to £1,235, £3,700, £4,934 and £6,175.
Part‑time support in the 2017 framework is adjusted in line with full‑time changes. New part‑time fee loan maxima are set at £2,875, £7,335 and £4,895 across the categories in regulation 21. Part‑time dependants’ grants and childcare caps mirror the full‑time upratings, and the Disabled Students’ Allowance living‑costs maximum for both undergraduate and postgraduate routes increases from £34,000 to £34,671.
Within the 2018 Regulations, the base grant for 2026/27 is set at £1,020 for full‑time students, with part‑time support pro‑rated by intensity. The maximum maintenance grant for full‑time students is adjusted to £6,805, £4,387 and £5,639 for the relevant bands in regulation 46, and the coefficient used to calculate the part‑time maintenance grant in regulation 47 Step 1 is reduced from 6.84 to 6.71.
The 2018 regime also refreshes maintenance loan tables for 2026/27, including for students who receive a special support payment and for extended years, with new entries in regulations 55, 56, 57, 58 and 58A. Dependants’ grant thresholds in regulation 77 Step 2 are uprated to £6,561, £9,026, £10,261 and £11,502, and the £50 increment rises to £54. Schedule 3 household‑income figures are updated for 2026/27.
Postgraduate support is aligned to the new academic year. New 2026/27 entries are inserted for the postgraduate doctoral degree loan in regulation 13 of the 2018 doctoral regulations and for Master’s contribution‑to‑costs loans in regulation 31ZA of the 2019 regulations. Disabled Students’ Grant maxima in both undergraduate and postgraduate provisions are set at £34,671.
Providers should now adjust fee and access plan documentation and refresh published fee schedules for 2026/27 to reflect the amended caps and loan maxima. University finance teams and Student Finance Wales should update calculators, offer letters and web content to incorporate the new thresholds and the childcare and dependants’ grant changes. The Explanatory Note confirms a Regulatory Impact Assessment is available from the Welsh Government’s Tertiary Education Directorate.
The Regulations apply from academic year 2026/27. In practice, students starting courses on or after 1 August 2026 will see the updated support amounts, and the tables in the 2018 Regulations label the new entries for years beginning on or after 1 September 2026. The instrument was signed by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Vikki Howells, on 20 January 2026.