The Conservative government has now officially scrapped all student grants, after passing the policy through parliament without a proper vote.

The financial funding – which was put in place to help the poorest students through university – was put to a legislation committee on Friday last week, despite strong opposition. It was then passed without any vote or debate in the House of Commons.

“(This is) not simply technical tinkering, but a major change by the government,” said Gordon Marsden, the shadow universities minister. “It has been done without consultation, with warning signs already being flagged up by the department’s own equality assessment and wholly without the detailed and proper parliamentary scrutiny such a step-change demands.”

The move is set to affect over half a million university students from low income families, who had previously been given grants of up to £3,387 – an amount that’s barely enough to cover a year’s rent in some cities. Instead, they will now be offered more loans to cover any extra costs.