Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential contribution which loans for students studying second degrees will make towards closing the higher level skills gap in England.

Part-time students starting a second degree course in any Science, Engineering, Technology and Maths (STEM) subject will be eligible for student support from the 2017/2018 Academic Year. We expect that that these changes will reduce barriers to people studying and help fill the high-level skills gaps that hold back parts of the economy.