Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of borrowers on Plan 2 student loans whose outstanding balance is projected to increase for at least the first ten years of repayment due to interest accrual exceeding annual repayments.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not hold analysis of the proportion of borrowers whose loan is projected to increase in their first ten years of repayment.
Student loan repayments are linked to income, not to the amount borrowed or interest applied. As repayments remain income-contingent if a borrower’s salary remains the same, their monthly repayments will also stay the same. 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.
Outstanding debt, 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.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of (a) the average outstanding student loan balance and (b) the proportion of borrowers currently making repayments in (i) Merseyside and (ii) the North West of England.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The average outstanding student loan balance of borrowers in the North West government region who have been funded by Student Finance England was £37,000 (rounded to the nearest thousand) on 15 March 2025. This includes all loans, even those not yet liable to repay. The proportion of borrowers currently residing in the North West government region who have been funded by Student Finance England and made at least one repayment in this financial year is 46.8%.
The department does not hold student loan data for Merseyside specifically, as it is not a defined statistical geography in our datasets. Therefore, figures can only be provided at North West regional level.
Please note published national data provides the picture of borrowers’ repayment and employment status on 31 March 2025 and differs to the proportion who have made a repayment in the last year.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of interest rates applied to income-contingent student loans on the total level of graduate debt.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not hold analysis on the impact of interest rates on total level of graduate debt.
No Plan 5 borrower should see their loan balance grow in real terms without additional outlay, as the rate of interest for Plan 5 loans is applied at Retail Price Index (RPI) only.
Plan 2 loan interest rates are applied at RPI only, then variable up to RPI+3% depending on earnings. Interest rates do not impact monthly repayments made by student loan borrowers, which stay at a constant rate of 9% above an earnings threshold to protect lower earners.
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 is a deliberate government investment in students and the economy.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of freezing the income repayment threshold for Plan 2 student loans on the level of disposable income of graduates earning between £29,000 and £40,000 per year.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Plan 2 student loans were designed and implemented by previous governments, and students in England starting degrees under this government have different arrangements. Threshold freezes have been introduced to protect taxpayers and students now, alongside future generations of learners and workers.
Student loan repayments are linked to income, not to the amount borrowed or interest applied. As repayments remain income-contingent if a borrower’s salary remains the same, their monthly repayments will also stay the same.
Repayments are made at a constant rate of 9% above the earnings threshold. Borrowers earning under the earnings threshold, are not required to 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.
The government appreciates that making student loan repayments has an impact on individuals, and this is why there are unique protections for borrowers and the finance system is heavily subsidised by taxpayers.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of increased student loan balances on graduates’ access to mortgages and savings.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The size of one’s outstanding student loan is not a barrier to accessing a mortgage and savings. Student loan balances do not appear on borrower credit records, meaning the total size of the student loan debt is not considered in a borrower mortgage application. Monthly student loan repayments will be considered alongside other living costs as part of the affordability check for mortgage applications in the same way as any other fixed monthly outgoings, but monthly repayments are not linked to the size of the outstanding loan.
Student loan repayments are linked to income, not to the amount borrowed or interest applied. Repayments are made at a constant rate of 9% above the earnings threshold. Borrowers earning under the earnings threshold, are not required to 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.
The government appreciates that making student loan repayments has an impact on individuals, and this is why there are unique protections for borrowers and the finance system is heavily subsidised by taxpayers.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make the eligibility criteria for the holiday activities and food programme the same as that for free school meals.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Liverpool West Derby, to the answer of 13 June 2025 to Question 57800.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure state schools have adequate levels of funding.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The overall core schools budget is increasing by £3.7 billion in 2025/26, meaning that it will total £65.3 billion, compared to £61.6 billion in 2024/25. This is a 6% overall increase, which against the backdrop of a challenging fiscal picture, demonstrates the government’s commitment to enabling every child to achieve and thrive through delivery of the Opportunity Mission.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of pausing student loan interest from accruing while new parents are in receipt of statutory maternity pay.
Answered by Janet Daby
Student loans are subject to interest to ensure that those who can afford to do so contribute to the full cost of their degree.
The student finance system protects borrowers if they see a reduction in their income for whatever reason. This includes those in receipt of statutory maternity pay, or any other person on parental leave. Student loan repayments are based on a borrower’s monthly or weekly income, not the interest rate or amount borrowed, and no repayments are made for earnings below the relevant student loan repayment threshold. Any outstanding debt, including interest built up, is written off at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower.
A full equality impact assessment of how the student loan reforms may affect graduates, including detail on changes to average lifetime repayments under Plan 5, was produced and published in February 2022 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of removing spelling and grammar software from Disabled Students' Allowance funding on student retention rates at universities.
Answered by Janet Daby
The department engaged with disability experts who support disabled students to gather their feedback and insights on the decision to remove non-specialist spelling and grammar software from Disabled Students’ Allowance funding.
The department’s review of non-specialist spelling and grammar software found that the required functionality to meet students’ disability-related support needs was available to students in free to access software. We do not expect that this change will affect students’ retention rates or employment prospects.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of removing spelling and grammar software from Disabled Students' Allowance funding on disabled students' future employment prospects.
Answered by Janet Daby
The department engaged with disability experts who support disabled students to gather their feedback and insights on the decision to remove non-specialist spelling and grammar software from Disabled Students’ Allowance funding.
The department’s review of non-specialist spelling and grammar software found that the required functionality to meet students’ disability-related support needs was available to students in free to access software. We do not expect that this change will affect students’ retention rates or employment prospects.