Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria his Department is using to determine whether proposals for a Sharia-compliant alternative student finance system will be included in the conclusion of the Review of Post-18 Education and Funding; if he will publish the (a) timetable for considering the recommendations made by the independent panel that reported to that review and (b) estimated date of conclusion of that review; and if he will make a statement.

The government has been carefully considering an alternative student finance product, alongside wider reforms to the higher education system, and an update will be provided alongside the conclusion to the Review of Post-18 Education and Funding. The interim conclusion of the review was published on 21 January 2021, and we will conclude the review in full at a future date.