Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Government consultation on the Lifelong Loan Entitlement launched on 24 February 2022, when she will (a) publish her response to that consultation and (b) implement an Alternative Finance Product.

On 6 May 2022, the department concluded the consultation on the Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE) as part of our planned pathway to delivery from 2025. This consultation, and other ongoing sector engagement, is a critical part of delivering a transformation of student finance. The department is carefully considering the contributions and will publish the response in due course.

The department remains committed to delivering an Alternative Student Finance (ASF) product compatible with Islamic finance principles, and work has started to assess how we can ultimately deliver an ASF product alongside the LLE. The department will provide a further update on ASF as part of our response to the LLE consultation.