Written question asked by Steve Webb (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 27 November 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 4 December 2003. It was answered by Alan Johnson (Labour) on Thursday, 4 December 2003 on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills.

Dept for Education and Skills

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, whether student loan repayments made via the Inland Revenue are immediately credited to individual loan accounts; how frequently the interest on student loan accounts is calculated; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether student loan repayments made via the Inland Revenue are immediately credited to individual loan accounts; how frequently the interest on student loan accounts is calculated; and if he will make a statement. [141525] Alan Johnson: Student loan repayments are collected by the Inland Revenue mostly through PAYE and the data is transmitted to the Student Loan Company after the end of each tax year. At that stage, repayments are credited to the student's loan account as at the date they were collected. Interest on student loans is calculated annually, set every year from 1 September based on the Retail Prices Index published in April for the previous year.

Secondary information