Together Gibraltar has said that the Government’s “surprise changes” to eligibility for university grants, via student handbook, “marks another embarrassment of Gibraltar’s policymaking.”

A statement continued: “Once again, a major policy shift has been rolled out without consultation, without transparency, and without even a basic information page for those who will be affected. 

“That the Minister for Education will be meeting with stakeholders, and has had to tell students to ignore the policy when completing their applications, shows that the government knows this change has been rolled out poorly. 

“Whether it is closing major roads without considering the impact on residents, suspending residency applications overnight last month, or making sweeping changes to entitlements, this GSLP Government has shown itself incapable of forward planning or of drafting policies that take into account the people it impacts. 

“This latest decision is particularly distressing for students already at university. These students should have received clear guidance on whether their funding would continue and be allowed to focus on their studies. 

“Following the one‐sided tax treaty with Spain, many families moved to Gibraltar in good faith. They paid their taxes, played by the rules, and contributed to our community. Now, they are being branded as freeloaders just for using the very benefits we used to attract them here in the first place. 

“If the Government believed this change was necessary, it should have been announced five years ago. Gibraltar cannot have its cake and eat it too. If we want to attract families to live, work, and study here, we cannot offer a package of benefits to entice them and then strip those benefits away at the drop of a hat. 

“This change comes on the heels of the badly managed suspension of residency permits, which continues to rattle the business community and could have been avoided with transparent communication and proper planning. 

“As the party for everyone who chooses to make Gibraltar their long-term home, Together Gibraltar calls on the government to respect the grants of those who would have qualified under the original residency criteria. We also call on the government to end this spree of reckless policy changes that risk damaging Gibraltar’s reputation at a time when the world is watching.”