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A rare piece of good financial news for those at university: it has been announced that more students are to receive full grants for university living costs.

The change means that students from families in England who earn less than £25,000 a year will now get the grants.

The threshold will be raised substantially, from the current level of £18,000.

John Denham, the secretary of state for Innovations, Universities and Skills, said the changes meant a "major increase in support to students".

He emphasised that the proportion of students eligible for a full grant would rise to around one-third.

Professor Drummond Bone, president of Universities UK, said: "This is excellent news - for students, for graduates - and for the whole higher education sector.

"This extra money will tackle head-on any perception that financial barriers make it impossible to go into higher education."

Gemma Tumelty, president of the National Union of Students, also welcomed the news.

She said: "NUS has consistently raised the issue of student debt and student hardship and the negative impact this has on student access and graduates.

"We are very pleased that the new Government has listened to our concerns and announced significant improvements to student support."