Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to publish the Government’s response to the HE reform consultation conducted in May 2022.

On 24 February 2022, the department published the Higher Education Reform Consultation. This set out reforms to the student loan system to put it on a fair and sustainable footing and a package of investment into the higher education (HE) Sector.

This included an investment of almost £900 million into the HE system over the next 3 years, in addition to ensuring that new student loan borrowers from the 2023/24 academic year onwards will benefit from a reduction in interest rates to retail price index (RPI) only. Under the new Plan 5 terms, no-one who takes out a loan will repay more than they borrowed when adjusted for inflation. The department also proposed reforms to improve outcomes for students and help them move into high-value employment.

The department is considering the views received in light of the current financial and economic situation and plans to publish a response in due course.