Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the impact assessment for the Government’s reforms to loan repayments, published in February 2022 and the House of Commons Library briefing entitled The Post-18 Education and Funding Review: Government conclusion, section 4.1, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for its policies of disparities in student loan repayments of the (a) average total loan charge and (b) time spent repaying loans between male and female borrowers.

The department has carefully assessed the impact of changes and published a full and comprehensive analysis in the HE Reform and Consultation Document Equality Impact Assessment, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.

The student loan repayment system under Plan 5 is progressive, with repayments being positively correlated with lifetime earnings. The highest earners make the largest individual contributions to the system overall, and the lowest earners are required to contribute the least.

Lower earners, whether male or female, are protected. If a borrower’s income is below the repayment threshold, they will not be required to make any repayments at all. At the end of the loan term, any outstanding loan debt, including interest accrued, will be written off at no detriment to the borrower. No commercial loans offer this level of protection.

The department will continue to keep the student finance system, including repayment terms, under review to ensure that it remains sustainable and delivers value for money for students and the taxpayer.