Universities UK is warning that UK higher-education institutions may cut hardship support for impoverished students and reduce outreach to disadvantaged groups if universities’ funding pressures persist. An anonymous poll of vice-chancellors found nearly a third of leaders expect hardship-support reductions within the next three years, alongside plans for hiring freezes, voluntary redundancies, and compulsory redundancies. For the sector, this signals a risk to student access and completion: hardship funding and targeted recruitment are often the first budgets to be trimmed when institutional finances deteriorate. The policy consequence is likely to extend beyond individual campuses, affecting national widening participation commitments and support infrastructure. The immediate need for stakeholders is clarity on funding trajectories and contingency plans, particularly for students facing cost-of-study constraints that directly affect enrollment persistence and mental health.