University Student Finance Debate
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Lord Sikka
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University Student Finance
Lord Sikka Excerpts(1 month ago)
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Lord Sikka (Lab)
As the Minister just said, the student debt in England is £296 billion and is expected to hit £500 billion by the late 2040s. Interest is added until debt is repaid or written off. What assessment have the Government made of the impact of student loan repayments on the ability of the affected people to buy a home or to start a business or a family?
Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)
Of course, the income-contingent nature of student loan repayments means that those on lower incomes are protected. They have been further protected by this Government’s raising of the threshold two years in a row. The fact that 30% of student loans will never be repaid and will be subsidised by the Government is a legitimate subsidy for students undertaking higher education and an investment in our higher education system and in the future of those who go to university.