Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government why interest rates on student loans are set using the Retail Prices Index rather than the Consumer Prices Index.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Interest rates on student loans have been consistently linked to a widely recognised and adopted measure of inflation. Interest rates are set in legislation in reference to the Retail Price Index (RPI) from the previous March and are applied annually on 1 September until 31 August.
The Office for National Statistics has undertaken a substantial programme of work over the past two years to enhance how inflation is measured and this will be carried over into student loans. The Office for Budget Responsibility has confirmed that from 2030 at the earliest, movements in RPI will be aligned with the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Further details are available at:
https://obr.uk/box/the-long-run-difference-between-rpi-and-cpi-inflation/.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her Department's answer to 108730, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of reducing the constant rate of student loan repayments from 9% to 5%.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Plan 2 student loans were designed and implemented by previous governments. Interest rates are applied at the Retail Price Index (RPI) only, then variable up to an upper limit of RPI +3% depending on earnings. This maintains the real value of repayments over a long loan term. As an additional borrower protection, interest rates on post-2012 loans are automatically capped by the prevailing market rate for comparable unsecured personal loans, ensuring borrowers are protected if market conditions change.
Interest rates do not impact monthly repayments made by student loan borrowers. Repayments are made at a constant rate of 9% above the earnings threshold, and the 9% rate strikes a balance between affordability for graduates and fairness to taxpayers. For example, someone earning £30,000 will repay around £4 per month in the 2026/27 financial years under the repayment threshold of £29,385.
Those earning below the earnings threshold do not make repayments. Any outstanding loan including interest built up, is cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.
This is a deliberate government investment in students and the economy, and the 9% over-threshold repayment rate keeps higher education funding sustainable and ensures the costs are shared fairly between students and taxpayers.
Reducing the repayment rate to 5% would significantly increase the cost to taxpayers, many of whom have not attended university, which in turn would undermine the sustainability of higher education funding.
My noble Friend, the Minister for Skills has written to the Rethink Repayment campaign organiser via their MP regarding this issue.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has had any discussions with Rethink Repayment regarding their student loan reform campaign.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Plan 2 student loans were designed and implemented by previous governments. Interest rates are applied at the Retail Price Index (RPI) only, then variable up to an upper limit of RPI +3% depending on earnings. This maintains the real value of repayments over a long loan term. As an additional borrower protection, interest rates on post-2012 loans are automatically capped by the prevailing market rate for comparable unsecured personal loans, ensuring borrowers are protected if market conditions change.
Interest rates do not impact monthly repayments made by student loan borrowers. Repayments are made at a constant rate of 9% above the earnings threshold, and the 9% rate strikes a balance between affordability for graduates and fairness to taxpayers. For example, someone earning £30,000 will repay around £4 per month in the 2026/27 financial years under the repayment threshold of £29,385.
Those earning below the earnings threshold do not make repayments. Any outstanding loan including interest built up, is cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.
This is a deliberate government investment in students and the economy, and the 9% over-threshold repayment rate keeps higher education funding sustainable and ensures the costs are shared fairly between students and taxpayers.
Reducing the repayment rate to 5% would significantly increase the cost to taxpayers, many of whom have not attended university, which in turn would undermine the sustainability of higher education funding.
My noble Friend, the Minister for Skills has written to the Rethink Repayment campaign organiser via their MP regarding this issue.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the report from the All Party Parliamentary Group for Adoption and Permanence entitled Adoptee Voices, published on 28 January 2026, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of offering every adoptee at least one adoptee-specific peer group and space during adolescence and early adulthood.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Young people involved in Adoption England’s National Youth Forum and regional adoption agency peer groups have spoken about how these groups have helped them explore and strengthen their identity, as well as to develop friendships with peers who understand their background. That is why our new consultation on the future of adoption support, “Adoption support that works for all”, includes proposals to increase opportunities for all young people to be involved in peer-led support groups, mentoring schemes, and wider community-based activities. This will help young people develop friendships and networks which can last a lifetime. The consultation can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/adoption-support-that-works-for-all.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to the King's College London report The China question: managing risks and maximising benefits from partnership in higher education and research, published in March 2021, what action they have taken to reduce risks to intellectual property, academic freedom and financial stability; and what plans they have to improve management of those risks.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We must distinguish between allegations of foreign interference and the positive impact that partnership and students from China bring to our higher education (HE) sector, economy and society as a whole.
HE providers are autonomous bodies, independent of government, and we expect the sector to be alert to security risks when collaborating with international partners, ensuring their compliance with relevant legislation and regulations.
Providers must also continue to make the appropriate financial decisions to ensure their long term sustainability, with the Office for Students (OfS) monitoring the risk of over reliance on overseas income at a sector level.
The department commenced strengthened duties on providers and on the OfS in relation to free speech and academic freedom. These duties have been in effect since 1 August 2025, and the Office for Students has also issued extensive guidance to HE providers on what they should do to ensure they effectively protect and promote free speech and academic freedom as per these duties.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology provides robust support to the UK's research sector on managing the risks of collaboration, including tailored advice from the Research Collaboration Advice Team, and the National Protective Security Authority and National Cyber Security Centre’s ‘Trusted Research’ guidance.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they have taken to protect academic freedom and free speech on university campuses.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This government is absolutely committed to freedom of speech and academic freedom. The department commenced the following provisions, which came into force from 1 August 2025:
The OfS has also issued extensive guidance to HE providers on commencement of their duties.
We are seeking a suitable legislative vehicle to amend and repeal elements of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Plan 2 student loan borrowers there are resident in Stroud.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As of 30 April 2025, there were approximately 19,000 (to the nearest 1000) Plan 2 student loan borrowers with a positive loan balance registered with the Student Loans Company (SLC) to postcodes which fall wholly or partly within the local authority area of Stroud District Local Authority.
This will include borrowers who were resident in Stroud, including at parental addresses, when they applied for the loan and have not informed the SLC of a subsequent change of address.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what evidential basis her department is using to promote resource bases for pupils with specialist needs in mainstream schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for West Suffolk to the answer of 13 February 2026 to Question 103940.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many undergraduate courses eligible for student loans have median graduate earnings below the repayment threshold five years after graduation.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Under the current Plan 5 student loan system, the repayment threshold is £25,000. Nationally, graduates across all subject areas have median earnings above this, five years after graduation, with the exception of Performing Arts graduates whose median earnings are £24,500.
More detail on courses at specific providers can be found in the department‘s published LEO provider level dashboard, which contains earnings outcomes at five years after graduation for each ‘provider x subject’ combination. This is available here: https://department-for-education.shinyapps.io/leo-provider-dashboard/
It should be noted that many of these combinations have outcomes suppressed due to low sample sizes, meaning it is not possible to produce a robust count of the total number of such courses.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the proportion of the total value of Plan 2 student loans issued since 2012 that will be written off.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not hold an estimate of the proportion of total Plan 2 outlay since 2012 that will be written off. We forecast subsidy portions for outlay for current and future financial years.
We estimate a resource accounting and budget (RAB) charge of 34% for Plan 2 loan outlay issued in the 2025/26 academic year to English domiciled borrowers. The RAB charge represents the subsidy portion of loan outlay as recorded in departmental accounts.
Outstanding debt, including interest accrued, is cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants. There are no commercial loans that offer this level of borrower protection. This cancellation/subsidy is a conscious investment in our young people and the skills capacity, people and economy of this country.