Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many asylum seekers there are in the education system by (a) day and (b) month of birth.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of asylum seekers in the education system have a date of birth recorded as 1 January.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many civil servants employed by their Department work in roles primarily focused on (a) transgender policy, (b) diversity, (c) equity and (d) inclusion; and at what annual salary cost.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department currently employs three civil servants in roles focused on diversity,
equity and inclusion. Following a review of all job titles across the department, we can confirm that there are no roles whose primary focus is transgender policy.
Within the central human resources diversity and inclusion team, staffing aligns with standard departmental grading structures for the 2025/26 financial year. The team includes:
Information on roles and salaries for members of the department and its arm's length bodies
is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disclosure-of-scs-posts-and-salary-information.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department has spent on social media advertising by (a) influencer and (b) organisation in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Sensitivities exist around aspects of this spend which could prejudice commercial interests. All spend in these areas are subject to the standard value for money assessments.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the long-term economic contribution of student-loan recipients who do not remain in the UK workforce after graduation; and how this affects repayment forecasts for the loan book.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the equitability of the current student loan system, in the context of the rising value of student loans issued to applicants who may not remain in the UK long enough to repay.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As of April 2025, 6.1 million borrowers (English and EU nationals with loans from Student Finance England) are in Repayment. Of the 6.1 million, 286,000 (4.6%) reside overseas, of which 85,000 (29.7%) are EU nationals and 201,000 (70.3%) are English UK nationals. Full details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/student-loans-in-england-2024-to-2025.
In November 2025, 60.3% of borrowers residing overseas (EU and UK nationals) were compliant, and 39.7% non-compliant. The compliance rate for UK borrowers was 62.3%, and for EU borrowers 55.4%.
The Student Loans Company (SLC) recovers approximately £10 million per month from customers residing overseas (both UK and EU nationals) at cost of approximately £339,000 per month. This is a return on investment of approximately 30:1.
In the 2024/25 financial year, SLC’s repayments evasion unit recovered £7.7 million from non-compliant overseas borrowers. If the SLC is unable to recover outstanding debt directly from borrowers overseas, the account will be referred to a Debt Collection Agency (DCA). On average, DCAs deliver a return on investment of £5 for every £1 spent. From April 2024 to March 2025, recoveries from overseas borrowers stand at £3.74 million.
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 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the potential administrative cost associated with tracing and managing borrowers of student loans whose repayment status cannot be verified through UK tax systems.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As of April 2025, 6.1 million borrowers (English and EU nationals with loans from Student Finance England) are in Repayment. Of the 6.1 million, 286,000 (4.6%) reside overseas, of which 85,000 (29.7%) are EU nationals and 201,000 (70.3%) are English UK nationals. Full details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/student-loans-in-england-2024-to-2025.
In November 2025, 60.3% of borrowers residing overseas (EU and UK nationals) were compliant, and 39.7% non-compliant. The compliance rate for UK borrowers was 62.3%, and for EU borrowers 55.4%.
The Student Loans Company (SLC) recovers approximately £10 million per month from customers residing overseas (both UK and EU nationals) at cost of approximately £339,000 per month. This is a return on investment of approximately 30:1.
In the 2024/25 financial year, SLC’s repayments evasion unit recovered £7.7 million from non-compliant overseas borrowers. If the SLC is unable to recover outstanding debt directly from borrowers overseas, the account will be referred to a Debt Collection Agency (DCA). On average, DCAs deliver a return on investment of £5 for every £1 spent. From April 2024 to March 2025, recoveries from overseas borrowers stand at £3.74 million.
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 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of borrowers who leave the UK after receiving student finance maintain full repayment compliance; and what mechanisms exist to enforce repayments from those living overseas.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As of April 2025, 6.1 million borrowers (English and EU nationals with loans from Student Finance England) are in Repayment. Of the 6.1 million, 286,000 (4.6%) reside overseas, of which 85,000 (29.7%) are EU nationals and 201,000 (70.3%) are English UK nationals. Full details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/student-loans-in-england-2024-to-2025.
In November 2025, 60.3% of borrowers residing overseas (EU and UK nationals) were compliant, and 39.7% non-compliant. The compliance rate for UK borrowers was 62.3%, and for EU borrowers 55.4%.
The Student Loans Company (SLC) recovers approximately £10 million per month from customers residing overseas (both UK and EU nationals) at cost of approximately £339,000 per month. This is a return on investment of approximately 30:1.
In the 2024/25 financial year, SLC’s repayments evasion unit recovered £7.7 million from non-compliant overseas borrowers. If the SLC is unable to recover outstanding debt directly from borrowers overseas, the account will be referred to a Debt Collection Agency (DCA). On average, DCAs deliver a return on investment of £5 for every £1 spent. From April 2024 to March 2025, recoveries from overseas borrowers stand at £3.74 million.
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 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the total value of student loans unlikely to be repaid by borrowers who have not established a long-term financial footprint in the UK; and what the projected cost to the public purse will be over the next decade.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the reliability of income data used by the Student Loans Company.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Student Loans Company (SLC) uses income data provided by HMRC, which is an effective way to ensure that repayments are linked directly to earnings for borrowers resident in the UK. Employers and self-employed borrowers provide income and student loan information to HMRC alongside tax reporting. HMRC then report this to the SLC.
The amount that borrowers are required to repay is calculated on the basis of income subject to National Insurance contributions (for UK-resident PAYE borrowers) or income subject to tax (for borrowers in Self-Assessment).
Borrowers residing overseas for more than three months, whether permanently or temporarily, are required to repay directly to the SLC, as they are outside the UK tax system. Borrowers must complete a yearly Overseas Income Assessment Form, including evidence of earnings (such as payslips or bank statements) or other income. The SLC then establishes a 12-month repayment schedule based on the borrower’s projected gross annual salary.