Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Written Statement of 10 October 2018 on Government Asset Sale, HCWS979, what the value is of the student loan book that he plans to sell during the course of the 2017 Parliament.

The government only sells assets where it is value for money to do so and where there is no policy reason to continue to own them. The government’s objective when issuing loans to students is to allow them to pursue their education regardless of their personal financial situation. Once this objective has been met, retaining the loans on the government’s balance sheet serves no further policy purpose.

The face value of the tranche of the pre-2012 English student loan book sold in December 2017 was £3.5 billion. The sale raised £1.7 billion in aggregate proceeds – exceeding the HM Treasury Green Book valuation of the loans.

The face value of the student loans in scope for the sale announced by Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS979) on 10 October 2018 is £3.9 billion. The government will proceed with this sale or any future sale from the pre-2012 loan book - only if market conditions remain favourable and if the final value for money assessment is positive.