Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he will respond to the recommendations in the Post-18 Education Review on reforming (a) maintenance loans and (b) grants.

We have considered all of the panel’s recommendations carefully, including their recommendations on maintenance support. The switch from maintenance grants to loans in 2016 has not stopped people going into higher education. In 2021, we had record rates of English 18 year-olds accepted to full-time university, up 1.1 percentage points from the previous year to 39.0%, the highest on record.

In 2021, we also had record rates of disadvantaged 18 year-olds accepted to full-time university, up 0.6 percentage points from the previous year to 24.6%.

Students from the lowest-income households have access to the largest ever amounts of support for their living costs in cash terms. Maximum grants and loans for living costs were increased by 3.1% this academic year, and we have announced that they will increase by a further 2.3% next year.