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Dept for Education and Skills

Answer

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much a secondary teacher on national average earnings will pay towards the proposed graduate contribution scheme each year until the contribution has been paid off; and if he can give the same figure as a proportion of (a) before income tax and national insurance contribution income and (b) after income tax and national insurance contribution income. [137472] Alan Johnson: Under our proposals, graduates begin repayments on their student loan once they are earning above the £15,000 repayment threshold. They pay 9 per cent. of their salary above the threshold per year. Loan repayments will continue until the loan has been paid off: where a student has received the tuition fee remission grant, or the HE Grant, their loan will be lower, and therefore the time taken to repay the loan will be less. In addition, students on Postgraduate Certificate in Education courses receive a £6,000 training bursary as well as having their tuition fees paid by the Government. Those who qualify in priority subjects (approximately one third of students) also receive a £4,000 Golden Hello after induction and this may be used to pay off student loan commitments. The level of loan repayment is directly linked to individual earnings and the repayment system is progressive--the amount that goes in repayments rises as the graduate's income does. To this extent, the career progression of a secondary school teacher will have an influence on their loan repayments. The average salary for newly-qualified full-time regular teachers in maintained secondary schools in England and Wales at 31March 2002 was £18,2601. Therefore, that teacher would pay around 300 per year in loan repayments: that is approximately1.6 per cent. of income before income tax and national insurance contribution; and 2.1 per cent. of income after income tax and national insurance contribution. The average salary for full-time regular teachers with five years' experience in maintained secondary schools in England and Wales at 31 March 2002 was £26,0702. Therefore, that teacher would pay around £1,000 per year in loan repayments: that is approximately 3.8 per cent. of income before income tax and national insurance contribution; and 5.2 per cent. of income after income tax and national insurance contribution. 1 DfES Database of Teacher Records 2 Database of Teacher Records 3 DfES Database of Teacher Records

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

413 c1496-7W;413 c1492-3W; 137472

Session

2002-03

Subjects

Finance Fees and charges Graduates Higher education Loans Teachers Repayments Secondary education Students

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk