SDLP Education spokesperson Sinead McLaughlin
The Department for the Economy has defended the £50 administration cost which will be paid to universities for processing Covid disruption payments to students.
It said it had allocated £9.56m to Ulster University and £9.8m to Queen’s University, including administration costs, out of the £22m fund pledged for student disruption grants.
The administration costs amount to 10% of the grant allocation, or £50 for each grant of £500.
The department said that the amount is “notional” and that it will claim the sums back when it knows the actual costs of administering the scheme.
The grants are to provide £500 to nearly 40,000 students whose education has been disrupted by Covid-19 but who have had to continue paying costs like student accommodation.
Students in further education are only eligible for a one-off payment of £60 to address digital poverty.
SDLP Foyle MLA Sinead McLaughlin, the deputy chair of the department’s scrutiny committee, said she was surprised at the £50 sum, calling it “excessive”.
The universities deferred to the department when asked if £50 could be regarded as excessive and when asked about the work involved in administering the grant.
A department spokeswoman said: “The administration cost allocated to each university and further education college covers any transaction fees incurred per student in administering the Covid disruption payment, and any staff costs or other resources which are necessary, including staff time spent on student validation, dealing with student queries etc.
“This is a notional cost which has been advanced to them…
“The department retains the right to claim back from the universities whatever element of these notional administration costs is appropriate once an assessment of the actual costs for each university has been carried out based on audited information.”
Ms McLaughlin said the department should also give grants to those students from the North of Ireland studying outside the region, saying their exclusion created “serious gaps”.
Speaking in the Assembly last week, Economy Minister Diane Dodds said it had taken advice on that point.
“We supported the students in the institutions that we publicly fund here in Northern Ireland.
“Students in GB from Northern Ireland will be able to claim funding from the universities they attend,” she said.
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