Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, a) what is the current RAB charge for Plan 2 loans, and b) how has this changed year-on-year since 2019.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The current Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) charge for Plan 2 loans in England is 32.2%. The RAB charge for Plan 2 loans has changed as follows since 2019:
RAB charges (Financial Year) | Plan 2 |
2019/20 | 53.0% |
2020/21 | 54.0% |
2021/22 | 45.0% |
2022/23 | 28.5% |
2023/24 | 29.8% |
2024/25 | 32.2% |
Many factors can influence the RAB charge, including modelling methodology, economic determinants and policy decisions. The last cohort of Plan 2 loan borrowers took their first loans in the 2022/23 academic year, the latest RAB charge covers outlay for borrowers still receiving Plan 2 loans in the 2024/25 financial year.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of Plan 2 borrowers graduating between 2016 and 2023 whose total lifetime student loan repayments, including interest, are projected to exceed the net present value of the graduate earnings premium attributable to their degree.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not hold estimates of lifetime repayment costs for Plan 2 borrowers by earnings bands.
The Autumn Budget included freezes to Plan 2 repayment and interest thresholds for at their 2026/27 financial year level until April 2030, when they will increase annually by inflation.
The following analysis of the impact of freezing the repayment and interest thresholds to aid the decision:
Average Lifetime repayments (2024/25 financial year prices) | |||||
Baseline | Policy | Impact | |||
£ | % | ||||
Entire cohort | £27,000 | £28,300 | £1,300 | 5% | |
Average | |||||
Lifetime graduate earnings decile | 1 | £2,000 | £2,000 | £0 | 0% |
2 | £4,300 | £4,700 | £400 | 9% | |
3 | £7,700 | £8,100 | £400 | 5% | |
4 | £11,600 | £13,000 | £1,400 | 12% | |
5 | £16,900 | £18,500 | £1,600 | 9% | |
6 | £23,100 | £25,200 | £2,100 | 9% | |
7 | £31,300 | £33,600 | £2,300 | 7% | |
8 | £41,200 | £43,500 | £2,300 | 6% | |
9 | £54,500 | £56,100 | £1,600 | 3% | |
10 | £59,100 | £59,500 | £400 | 1% | |
We also do not hold the proportion of borrowers projected to repay of their student loan than the graduate earnings premium attributable to their degree.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the estimated total additional lifetime repayment cost of the Plan 2 threshold freeze announced in Autumn Budget 2025 is for borrowers earning at (a) £30,000, (b) £40,000, (c) £50,000, (d) £60,000, (e) £66,000, (f) £75,000 and (g) £90,000.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not hold estimates of lifetime repayment costs for Plan 2 borrowers by earnings bands.
The Autumn Budget included freezes to Plan 2 repayment and interest thresholds for at their 2026/27 financial year level until April 2030, when they will increase annually by inflation.
The following analysis of the impact of freezing the repayment and interest thresholds to aid the decision:
Average Lifetime repayments (2024/25 financial year prices) | |||||
Baseline | Policy | Impact | |||
£ | % | ||||
Entire cohort | £27,000 | £28,300 | £1,300 | 5% | |
Average | |||||
Lifetime graduate earnings decile | 1 | £2,000 | £2,000 | £0 | 0% |
2 | £4,300 | £4,700 | £400 | 9% | |
3 | £7,700 | £8,100 | £400 | 5% | |
4 | £11,600 | £13,000 | £1,400 | 12% | |
5 | £16,900 | £18,500 | £1,600 | 9% | |
6 | £23,100 | £25,200 | £2,100 | 9% | |
7 | £31,300 | £33,600 | £2,300 | 7% | |
8 | £41,200 | £43,500 | £2,300 | 6% | |
9 | £54,500 | £56,100 | £1,600 | 3% | |
10 | £59,100 | £59,500 | £400 | 1% | |
We also do not hold the proportion of borrowers projected to repay of their student loan than the graduate earnings premium attributable to their degree.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2026 to Question 113311 Private Education: Single Sex Education, how the Department records and retains information on applications by independent schools for approval of material changes.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Information regarding applications for approval to make a material change is recorded and retained on the Independent Education and School Safeguarding Division's customer relationship management system, against the school’s individual record. Once a material change application is approved, the department's publicly available register of schools in England, the ‘Get Information About Schools’ service, is amended to reflect the change to the school's registered details.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2026 to Question 104598 Private Education: Single Sex Education, how many material change requests have been submitted by independent single-sex education settings seeking approval to become co-educational since (a) 1 January 2023 and (b) 1 January 2025.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department has processed 1232 material changes between 1 January 2023 and 1 January 2025. The department does not record data below this level in terms of types of school or type of material change.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many independent single-sex schools have (a) closed and (b) changed their admissions policy to become dual-sex since 1 January 2025.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Five girls’ single sex schools and two boys’ single sex schools have closed since 1 January 2025.
The department does not collect data on how many schools have changed their admissions policy to become dual-sex.