Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made an assessment of to what extent the interest payable on student loans is a potential barrier to Muslim students.

The government assessed the merits of a sharia-compliant alternative finance product, including the views of students and other stakeholders, as part of the response to the consultation published in September 2014. The consultation response is at the link below:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/349899/bis-14-984-government-response-to-a-consultation-on-a-sharia-compliant-alternative-finance-product.pdf.