Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the median level of student debt.

The median amount that full time undergraduate higher education students starting their studies in the 2021/22 academic year are expected to borrow over the course of their studies is £ 41,300. For part time students the corresponding median amount is £6,300.

This forecast covers borrowers who received loans as English domiciled students studying in the UK, or as EU domiciled students studying in England. Students who do not receive a student loan are not included in the median calculation. The forecast is based on Student Loan Company actual loan outlay data from August 2021 to April 2022. The median contains forecasted loan amounts from April 2022 to July 2028.

Students will accrue interest on their loans that is not included in the median figure. Repayments are made based on a borrower’s monthly or weekly earnings, not the interest rate or amount borrowed. If a borrower’s income is below the relevant repayment threshold, or a borrower is not earning, repayments will stop. Any outstanding debt, including interest accrued, is written off at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower.

Full details on the median amount coverage can be found in the table below. Previous forecasts for the mean average total loan amount can be found in Table 1.3 of the ’Student Loan Forecast for England’ publication, which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/student-loan-forecasts-for-england. These forecasts will be updated to use the same data as described above at the end of June 2023.

Foot notes:
1. Tuition fee cap has been frozen up to and including academic year 2024/25 in these forecasts

2. Coverage: Borrowers who received loans as English domiciled students studying in the UK or as EU domiciled students studying in England

3. Students who do not receive a student loan are not included in the median calculation

4. The forecast is based on actual Student Loan Company loan outlay data from August 2021 to April 2022. The median contains forecasted loan outlay from April 2022 to July 2028.

5. These figures are restricted to higher education undergraduate loans and do not include Advanced Learner Loans

6. Figures have been rounded to the nearest £100.