Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the freeze in Local Housing Allowance on levels of rough sleeping and homelessness in England.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The causes of rough sleeping and homelessness are multifaceted and are driven by a range of factors, both personal and structural.

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates are annually reviewed, usually in the Autumn. At Autumn budget 2025, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions reviewed LHA and announced that rates would be maintained at their current levels for 2026/27. Rent levels across Great Britian were considered alongside other factors such as the challenging fiscal context and welfare priorities, including the removal of the two-child limit which will bring 450,000 children out of poverty.

DWP worked closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on the National Plan to End Homelessness, which is driving sustainable change and addressing the root causes of homelessness and we continue working together with MHCLG and HMT to keep LHA rates under review.

Renters facing a shortfall in meeting their housing costs can apply for discretionary housing support from local authorities.

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 maintaining thresholds for repayment of student loans between 2027-28 and 2029-30 for Plan 2 students who started their course between 2012 and 2023 on fair access to higher education for disabled students.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Plan 2 loans were designed and implemented by previous governments. Students in England starting degrees under this government have different arrangements.

Lower earning graduates remain protected by this change. Graduates only begin repaying once their earnings exceed the threshold, paying 9% of income above that level. As repayments remain income-contingent, if a borrower’s salary remains the same, their monthly repayments will also stay the same. Outstanding loans, including interest accrued, are cancelled at the end of the loan term, or in case of death or permanent disability, with no detriment to the borrower.

The department has produced the attached analysis regarding the lifetime impact of freezing the repayment and interest thresholds.

The department will release an equalities impact assessment, including the impact on lifetime repayments, alongside other borrower impacts for the Plan 2 repayment threshold and interest threshold freeze, as announced at the Autumn Budget. Published results may differ from those provided due to model and data updates.

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 freezing the Plan 2 repayment threshold on (a) nursing students with Plan 2 loans and (b) nursing students with Plan 2 loans who started their courses between August 2017 and September 2020.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Plan 2 loans were designed and implemented by previous governments. Students in England starting degrees under this government have different arrangements.

Lower earning graduates remain protected by this change. Graduates only begin repaying once their earnings exceed the threshold, paying 9% of income above that level. As repayments remain income-contingent, if a borrower’s salary remains the same, their monthly repayments will also stay the same. Outstanding loans, including interest accrued, are cancelled at the end of the loan term, or in case of death or permanent disability, with no detriment to the borrower.

The department has produced the attached analysis regarding the lifetime impact of freezing the repayment and interest thresholds.

The department will release an equalities impact assessment, including the impact on lifetime repayments, alongside other borrower impacts for the Plan 2 repayment threshold and interest threshold freeze, as announced at the Autumn Budget. Published results may differ from those provided due to model and data updates.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department’s estimate is of the (a) total level of student loan debt of Plan 2 students who started their course between 2012 and 2023 and (b) total level of student loan debt of Plan 2 students at the point that the freeze in repayment thresholds is planned to end in 2029-2030 for which the latest data is available.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The current mean average level of student loan balance of Plan 2 students who started their course between 2012 and 2023 to the nearest £100, as of 9 February, is £52,100 for England domiciled borrowers.

We do not hold a forecast for this average balance in 2029/30 on a consistent basis to the above figure provided by the Student Loans Company (SLC), as we forecast loan balances at the course level rather than borrower level, so cannot calculate the average balance by borrower.

The total level of student loan balances of Plan 2 students who started their course between 2012 and 2023 is £213 billion (to the nearest billion, as of 31 March 2025), for England and EU domiciled borrowers, as published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/student-loans-in-england-2024-to-2025/student-loans-in-england-financial-year-2024-25.

Our modelled forecast of estimated total loan balance at the end of 2029/30 is £249 billion (rounded to the nearest billion, estimate for 1 April 2030), as published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/student-loan-forecasts-for-england/2024-25#explore-data-and-files.

The 2029/30 total loan balance figure is forecasted and not certain. More details on the methodology are here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/methodology/student-loan-forecasts-for-england.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what is her Department’s estimate of the (a) average level of student loan debt of Plan 2 students who started their course between 2012 and 2023 and (b) average level of student loan debt of Plan 2 students at the point that the freeze in repayment thresholds is planned to end in 2029-2030 for which the latest data is available.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The current mean average level of student loan balance of Plan 2 students who started their course between 2012 and 2023 to the nearest £100, as of 9 February, is £52,100 for England domiciled borrowers.

We do not hold a forecast for this average balance in 2029/30 on a consistent basis to the above figure provided by the Student Loans Company (SLC), as we forecast loan balances at the course level rather than borrower level, so cannot calculate the average balance by borrower.

The total level of student loan balances of Plan 2 students who started their course between 2012 and 2023 is £213 billion (to the nearest billion, as of 31 March 2025), for England and EU domiciled borrowers, as published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/student-loans-in-england-2024-to-2025/student-loans-in-england-financial-year-2024-25.

Our modelled forecast of estimated total loan balance at the end of 2029/30 is £249 billion (rounded to the nearest billion, estimate for 1 April 2030), as published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/student-loan-forecasts-for-england/2024-25#explore-data-and-files.

The 2029/30 total loan balance figure is forecasted and not certain. More details on the methodology are here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/methodology/student-loan-forecasts-for-england.

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 maintaining thresholds for repayment of student loans between 2027-28 and 2029-30 for Plan 2 students who started their course between 2012 and 2023 on fair access to higher education for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Plan 2 loans were designed and implemented by previous governments. Students in England starting degrees under this government have different arrangements.

Lower earning graduates remain protected by this change. Graduates only begin repaying once their earnings exceed the threshold, paying 9% of income above that level. As repayments remain income-contingent if a borrower’s salary remains the same, their monthly repayments will also stay the same.

The department has produced the attached analysis regarding the lifetime impact of freezing the repayment and interest thresholds.

The department will release an equalities impact assessment, including the impact on lifetime repayments, alongside other borrower impacts for the Plan 2 repayment threshold and interest threshold freeze announced at the Autumn Budget. Published results may differ from those provided due to model and data updates.

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 maintaining thresholds for repayment of student loans between 2027-28 and 2029-30 for Plan 2 students who started their course between 2012 and 2023 on fair access to higher education for women students.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Plan 2 loans were designed and implemented by previous governments. Students in England starting degrees under this government have different arrangements.

Lower earning graduates remain protected by this change. Graduates only begin repaying once their earnings exceed the threshold, paying 9% of income above that level. As repayments remain income-contingent if a borrower’s salary remains the same, their monthly repayments will also stay the same.

The department has produced the attached analysis regarding the lifetime impact of freezing the repayment and interest thresholds.

The department will release an equalities impact assessment, including the impact on lifetime repayments, alongside other borrower impacts for the Plan 2 repayment threshold and interest threshold freeze announced at the Autumn Budget. Published results may differ from those provided due to model and data updates.

Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules (No. 2)

New US sanctions on Cuba