Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the UK's departure from the EU, what assessment they have made of the ability of (1) UK citizens to work in the EU, and (2) the earnings potential of graduates, in calculating the write off of student loan debt.

The Withdrawal Agreement protects the rights of UK nationals who were lawfully resident in the EU before the end of the transition period, meaning they can continue to live, work, study, and access benefits and services broadly as they did before the UK left the EU. Member states may require a visa and/or work permit from British citizens intending to work or provide a service there.  British citizens should check with the embassy of the country where they plan to travel for work or to provide a service for what type of visa or permit, if any, they will need.

Regardless of the UK’s departure from the EU, the assessment of the earnings of student loan borrowers continues to take into account the latest Student Loan Company and Longitudinal Education Outcomes data, plus survey data from the Labour Force Survey and British Household Panel Survey, mortality statistics from the Office for National Statistics and macro-economic forecasts of earnings growth from the Office for Budget Responsibility. The assessment can be accessed here: https://obr.uk/fsr/fiscal-sustainability-report-july-2020/, in the document 'July 2020 Fiscal sustainability report - charts and tables: Chapter 2'. Detailed information on the assessment of graduate earnings is published in the Earnings forecasts section of the Student Loans methodology, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/student-loan-forecasts-england-2019-to-2020, in the document 'Student loan forecasts, England 2019 to 2020: quality and methodology information'. The next update to the student loan forecasts publication is announced for June 2021.