In 2012-13 the Russell Group in England spent £24.6m on outreach activities recognised by the Office for Fair Access (Offa), equating to around £1.2m per institution, plus £128m of their extra fee income on bursaries.
The NUS says more of the NSP should be used to fund bursaries and scholarships, which are set to fall by £21.8m over the next three years.
Brian Deluce, 75, asks him about bursaries for his granddaughter who has just got into Oxford University.
"There should be some kind of structure in place to make sure affordable accommodation is available – that might be a freeze, a cap on rent, or bursaries".
The University of York has accommodation bursaries worth £2,400 on offer to some students.
The government encouraged them to do this, first by making cash bursaries mandatory in 2006, and then with the introduction of the National Scholarship Programme (NSP), which was created in 2012 to allay fears created by the threefold fee cap increase to £9,000 per year.
Universities have been offering bursaries and scholarships to poorer students for a long time.
"Many modern universities support students through bursaries, but we also have hardship funds.
Yes, there will be bursaries that could make a difference, but the Oxbridges and Imperials are still going to hand applicants a bigger bill than other institutions.
The NUS says more help should be available to disadvantaged students and is calling for a greater proportion of the government's new access fund, the national scholarship programme (NSP), to be invested in scholarships and bursaries.
Matt, from Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, doesn't get any financial help from his parents, or bursaries from his university.
