My Letter to Shabana Mahmood on the Gaza Scholarship Scheme

I have written to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to request clarity on the extension of the Gaza scholarship scheme to enable students to take up their university places.

You can read the letter in full here:

The full text of the letter reads:

18 December 2025

Rt Hon Shabana Mahmood MP

Home Secretary

BY EMAIL

Dear Shabana,

Future of the Gaza scholarship scheme

I am writing to request urgent assurances on the future of the Gaza scholarship scheme.

The current scheme covers students whose courses start before 31st December 2025. A slow start to

evacuations means some students are still awaiting dates for travel to the UK. Three students with

dependents, including one with a place at the University of Bristol, have been told that to ensure they

are included in the current scheme, they need to leave Gaza now, without their children. There would

be no guarantee their families will later be evacuated to the UK. No-one should be asked to choose

between their studies or their children, particularly given the devastation in Gaza they would be

leaving their families to endure. There are at least four more students with scholarships for January

entry who at present are also excluded from the scheme.

It was reassuring to hear the Prime Minister state at PMQs on 17th December that he wants the

students from Gaza to be able to take up their university places and that he is considering solutions

for those yet to arrive in the UK.

Given this, I am asking you to swiftly confirm if and how the Gaza scholarship scheme will be

extended beyond the current end of year deadline. Without this extension, many scholars may not be

able to take up their places at UK universities.

I hope to hear from you as soon as possible on this issue.

Yours sincerely,

Carla Denyer MP

Member of Parliament for Bristol Central