Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to launch Alternative Student Finance for Muslim students.

The department understands the concerns held by some Muslim students and their families about student finance. We want all learners with the potential to benefit from higher education to be able to do so. The department remains committed to delivering an alternative student finance (ASF) product for Muslim students.

Going forward, the department is introducing a Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE) that will significantly change the ways students can access learning and financial support.

The department's consultation on the detail and scope of the LLE closed in May 2022. In this consultation, the department sought views on what barriers learners with protected characteristics might face in accessing or drawing on their LLE, noting that answers to this question could include consideration of an ASF product for students whose faith has resulted in concerns about traditional loans. We are currently considering if and how ASF can be delivered as part of the LLE.

We will provide a further update on ASF as part of the government response to the LLE consultation.