Cost of living support

Cost of living support for students and staff

We know the rising cost of living is having an impact on many Imperial students and staff and is a source of worry and concern.

We are giving careful thought to how we can offer some extra help where it is most needed.  

Support for students

We are strengthening our Student Support Fund with an additional £500,000, which more than doubles the amount of support available to students. We are also reviewing how the Fund operates to make it more accessible and responsive. 

Any student facing unexpected financial hardship can apply to the Fund now. 

This comes on top of action we have already taken to support our students, including increasing the maximum grant from the Student Support Fund from £4,000 to £5,000 per academic year, and matching the UKRI minimum doctoral stipend for PhD students.  

Support for staff

To provide some immediate, targeted financial support we will make the following non-consolidated, one-off payments in the November payroll:   

  • £1,000 up to salaries of £37,141

  • £750 up to salaries of £50,000; and

  • £400 for salaries up to £71,264

Staff who are employed as of 1 November, including staff on family leave, will receive the payment, and it will be pro-rata for those working part-time.

This payment comes on top of the pay award applied to salaries from August this year which ranged from 8.5% for our lowest paid staff to 1.1% for the highest salaries.

Additional support for our community

We appreciate that financial concerns may also prove challenging for your mental health. If you find yourself running into difficulty, please seek help through the College’s support services for students and staff or your GP. For students, Imperial College Union also has a range of valuable services. It is a sign of strength and not weakness to seek help. 

We are also considering additional ways we can support our community and are rolling out a number of other initiatives. 

Eating and drinking

In the face of food cost increases, our campus chefs have been working behind-the-scenes to reconfigure menus to limit price increases in our catering outlets.

Across all campuses, our Meal Deal remains priced at £3.70, and outlets including Feast, Neo Pizza, and The Library Café offer a hot lunch for less than £4.

We are also launching The Pantry – a new pop-up store that will offer everyday food essentials such as pasta, rice, vegetables and more at low, wholesale prices. The Pantry will offer a ‘self-scoop’ service as well as pre-filled bags to grab-and-go.

Housing

The Student Accommodation Office maintains a set of resources on navigating the London housing market. We are updating our Additional Support pages with further guidance on utility bill management and, if you’re looking for a place to rent, Imperial Home Solutions provides a directory of exclusive rentable properties.

Travel

If you’re looking for alternatives to the Tube, Move Imperial host a set of resources on getting started with Active Travel, including a cycle map of central London. You can also access discounted rates on renting and then purchasing bikes via Try Before You Bike for students and CycleToWork for staff. Students and staff can also enjoy a 25-40% discount on Santander bike hire.

If you already have a bike, our Dr. Bike sessions offer a full check of your bicycle plus minor repairs free of charge.

We recognise that the months ahead will be challenging for many in our community and hope this support will go some way to helping those who need it most.  We will continue to monitor the national economic situation, including the government’s forthcoming autumn statement, and its impact on our staff and students and do what we can to help.