UK university leaders are warning that worsening funding conditions could force colleges to scale back hardship support and reduce outreach to disadvantaged students. An anonymous poll by Universities UK found nearly a third of vice-chancellors expect cuts to hardship support over the next three years if financial strain persists. The same survey indicates deep staffing impacts: more than two-thirds of respondents said they could resort to compulsory redundancy, while nearly 90% anticipate hiring freezes or voluntary redundancies. University support services are therefore at risk not only for current students, but also for recruitment and retention efforts targeted at lower-income communities. Taken together, the findings point to a higher-ed funding squeeze that is quickly turning into operational tradeoffs—potentially undermining student success and widening participation gaps at a time when institutional budgets are already constrained.