QUB declares ‘critical incident’ on staff and student poverty

A spokeswoman for the university told the News Letter: "We have declared a critical incident in relation to the cost of living crisis and are in the process of approving several measures to assist our staff and students which we intend to announce in the coming weeks."

Vice-chancellor Prof Ian Greer said he wanted to ensure an "appropriate institutional response". QUB has been allocated £2.7m to be distributed as hardship funds this academic year as part of a wider support package.

In the 2021-2022 academic year, the Department of Economy allocated £2m to QUB to help students facing financial hardship. However the university had paid out £2.2m by the end of April 30, according to a written Assembly answer in June.

Details of the plans QUB is to take to help staff and students will be taken within weeks.

In an internal email seen by BBC News NI, Prof Greer said he had established a "working group to develop a plan on the interventions that need to be taken" to support the university community.

"Once we obtain agreement on our response, we will communicate our action plan to students and staff with an announcement as soon as possible," he wrote.

He said there was an "urgent need" to improve internal decision-making processes at the university to deal with cost-of-living issues.

The National Union of Students says a third of students have a total monthly allowance of £50 after paying their rent and bills and that 96% of students are "cutting back".