Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the resource accounting budgeting charge in England for (1) fee-loans for part-time higher education undergraduate students, (2) loans for adult learners at Level 3, (3) loans for adult learners at Levels 4 and 5, and (4) future maintenance loans for part-time higher education undergraduate students.

The Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) charge for fee loans for part-time higher education undergraduate students is estimated to be around 40%.

The RAB charge for Advanced Learner Loans at Level 3 is estimated to be around 50%-55%. The estimate includes Access to Higher Education (HE) courses which allow any learner progressing to HE to have their loan written off at the point of completing their HE course.

The RAB charge for Advanced Learner Loans at Level 4 and above is estimated to be around 20%-25%.

It is estimated that the RAB charge for part-time higher education undergraduate loans will increase to around 45% once maintenance loans have been made available to part-time students.

The cost of the system is a conscious investment in young people. It is the policy subsidy required to make higher and further education widely available, achieving the government’s objectives of increasing the skills in the economy and ensuring access to university for all with the potential to benefit.