Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the article entitled University debt: credit crunch looms as debt spirals, published by the Times on 3 January 2018, what estimate he has made of the levels of debt of UK Universities; and if he will make a statement.

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Data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency for the most recent financial year available (2016/17) shows that UK universities’ external borrowing totalled £11.8 billion, equivalent to roughly 33% of sector income.[1]

In the new higher education (HE) regulatory framework, the Office for Students has responsibilities to monitor and assess the financial viability and sustainability of registered HE providers in England.

[1] External borrowing as defined by Higher Education Statistics Agency: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/collection/c16031/key_financial_indicators.