Written question asked by Helen Clark (Labour) on Tuesday, 1 December 1998, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 9 December 1998. It was answered by George Mudie (Labour) on Wednesday, 9 December 1998 on behalf of the Department for Education and Employment.

Dept for Education and Employment

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, if he will provide extra help for dental students who are heavily in debt.

Answer: Mrs. Brinton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will provide extra help for dental students who are heavily in debt. [62314] Mr. Mudie: Dental and other students who entered higher education before 1998-99 and who take out five or more loans will repay these loans over a period of seven years compared with five years for other borrowers. They will not have to start repaying their student loans until their income reaches the earnings related threshold which for 1998-99 is set at £17,784 per annum. From 1998-99 dental students in the first four years of their course will have access to the same loan, grant and fees support as all other new entrants, but they will receive help in years five and beyond through NHS bursaries and the Department of Health will meet their tuition fees. After graduation, they will benefit from the fairer repayment system which we are introducing, which links repayments directly to graduates income. No repayments are made until their income reaches a threshold, initially set at £10,000, and thereafter they are calculated as a percentage of income above that level. This will ensure that dental students, and others with larger loans to repay will have affordable repayments linked directly to their earnings.

Secondary information