Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have decided on an approach to Sharia-compliant university student financing.

The government is committed to introducing an Alternative Student Finance (ASF) product compatible with Islamic finance principles and continues to make progress towards its delivery.

ASF will be introduced as soon as possible following the introduction of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement and will mirror the mainstream student finance offer, requiring the same repayments to the scheme as those required for conventional loans.

To ensure compliance with Islamic finance principles, the ASF product will be based on the principle of mutual support, where participants contribute to a shared fund which will then be used to support others accessing the scheme. Before the launch, the product will also be certified as compliant with Islamic finance principles by an independent board of Islamic finance experts.

Further information on the approach to ASF is available on the GOV.UK website.