"My Lords, a number of noble Lords want to get in with their questions. I urge noble Lords to keep them short, and I am sure my noble friend will also endeavour to give short answers...." Viscount Younger of Leckie - View Speech
"My Lords, in the absence of any further questions, I beg to move that the House do now adjourn during pleasure until 9.19 pm...." Viscount Younger of Leckie - View Speech
"My Lords, I think it may have been noticed that my noble friend has strayed from Amendment A into Amendment B. I think it would be wise to allow the Deputy Speaker to deal with Amendment A before we move on to Amendment B. I might be able to persuade …..." Viscount Younger of Leckie - View Speech
"I am sorry to interrupt the noble and gallant Lord, but we cannot hear him very well. We shall come back to him later in the debate...." Viscount Younger of Leckie - View Speech
"My Lords, student loan interest rates vary with income: 6.1% is the maximum rate, and many students will be charged less than this. Borrowers in repayment who earn under £21,000 pay 3.1%. Borrowers are protected, and repayments are linked to income, not interest rates or the amount borrowed. Our student …..." Viscount Younger of Leckie - View Speech
"My Lords, the details of the scheme continue to be kept under review, but the student loan system is working well. The Government’s reforms to the undergraduate student finance system have ensured that it is financially sustainable for the taxpayer in the long term, while enabling those with the talent …..." Viscount Younger of Leckie - View Speech
"The interest rate system ends up being a subsidy. If we think of one-third of students going to university, a third is written off. The whole complex system is designed to ensure there is an effective balance...." Viscount Younger of Leckie - View Speech
"To answer the question about the £21,000, the issue was discussed at length during the passage of the Higher Education and Research Bill. When the current system was introduced, the threshold would have been around 75% of the projected average earnings for 2016. Since then, updated calculations based on ONS …..." Viscount Younger of Leckie - View Speech
"I have those figures but I will have to write to the noble and learned Lord with them; they are in my facts somewhere...." Viscount Younger of Leckie - View Speech
"That is because it is not necessary to do so. The proportion of borrowers liable to repay when the £21,000 threshold took effect in April was significantly lower than could have been envisaged when the policy was introduced. The threshold would now be set at £19,000 if it were to …..." Viscount Younger of Leckie - View Speech