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Sale of Student Loans Bill

My right hon. Friend's lucidity is matched only by his assiduity. He makes his point with a force that I would be reluctant to use. I mentioned the possibility of inappropriate sales at an inappropriate time, but as ever he draws the issue into sharp focus. It is entirely possible that the Government might be forced to sell part of the loan book at the least desirable time, in the circumstances that he describes. That would be scandalous, because the loan book is an important public asset. It is right that we should consider selling it—that has been Conservative policy for some years—and we welcome the spirit that lies behind the Bill, but the devil is in the detail. We need to get the terms and conditions right, as well as the circumstances, and ensure that Parliament has the ability to scrutinise the sale. The report that the Government will bring to the House on the sale will include, as we have argued both publicly and privately with Ministers, any advice given by the Treasury about the assessment of value for money. The Minister has said throughout that a value-for-money framework lies at the heart of the Government's strategy, and we would simply argue that that should be something to which all hon. Members have access so that they can test the Government's adoption of the powers in the Bill against the circumstances in which the loans are sold. I am delighted that the Minister has moved a considerable way towards our position on that point by adding an amendment that makes the report a statutory requirement and requires it to be laid within three months of the date on which the Secretary of State enters into transfer arrangements. So we will get the report, understand the advice that has been given to the Government and see the value-for-money framework. That would mean that the Opposition —indeed all hon. Members—would be able to scrutinise the Government accordingly. Whatever pressure has been put on the Minister by the Treasury, he will be answerable for the circumstances of the sale, credit crunch or no credit crunch. Our amendment to Lords amendment No. 7 would insert the requirement that"““The report must also include an assessment of the impact of the sale on borrowers.””" The effect on borrowers should also be taken into account, given that no impact assessment was made when the Bill was published and I understand that the Government are unlikely to add one at this late stage. At the very least, a retrospective analysis of the impact on borrowers should form part of the report that the Government make to the House. I have tested the Minister on this point privately. I asked him in writing—I am sure that we would be willing to make that correspondence public—why there was no impact assessment originally, why one should not be made now and why, given the permissive nature of the amendments introduced in the Lords, we should not test the issue even at this late stage. Sadly, even given the Minister's eminent sense of fair play and professionalism, he has yet to bring an impact assessment before the House. It is, therefore, all the more important that the impact on borrowers be included in the report that we get retrospectively. I shall be interested to hear his comments on that. We are delighted that this amendment was tabled. We first raised our concerns on Second Reading and in Committee, and pointed out that it would be ““useful”” to have a provision on value for money that was set in stone. On Report, my hon. Friend the Member for Reading, East (Mr. Wilson) moved an amendment that would have placed value-for-money criteria on the face of the Bill. At the time the Minister described the amendment as unnecessary and I am glad that, following detailed discussions and correspondence, we have been able to find a way forward. On Second Reading, the Minister explained that the loan book had last been valued at £18.1 billion, and he said that it was the Government's intention to raise £6 billion in receipts over the next three years—almost exactly a third of the book's value. I hope that he will be able to give us some idea of the Government's immediate intentions. Do they intend to sell a third of the loan book over the next six months to a year? If they do not intend to sell a third, what proportion do they intend to sell? We would also like some idea of the timetable, given that these amendments deal with value for money, and it is difficult for us to understand the scale of the issue unless we understand the detail of the Government's intentions. My right hon. Friend the Member for Wokingham mentioned the credit crunch and the uncertain financial markets, which have worsened since Second Reading, which was held on 22 November last year. It would be useful to know whether any subsequent valuation of the loan book has been made, because it may well be that the Government need to sell more than a third to raise the stated £6 billion. It could be less, of course—I do not want to be too pessimistic.