Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by Mel Stride (Conservative) on Friday, 10 April 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 15 April 2026 (named day). It was answered by Josh MacAlister (Labour) on Wednesday, 22 April 2026 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Students: Loans

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Interest rate cap introduced to protect Plan 2 borrowers, published on 7 April 2026, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse of capping interest on Plan 2 and 3 student loans at 6%.

Answer

The government is capping maximum interest rates on Plan 2 and Plan 3 (postgraduate) student loans at 6%, instead of the Retail Prices Index (RPI) plus 3%, for the 2026/27 academic year.

This short-term protective measure will apply from the 1 September 2026 to the 31 August 2027 and removes the risk of a temporary increase in inflation causing loan balances to compound at an unsustainable rate.

Student loan interest rates are ordinarily set for each academic year by reference to the RPI value for the year to the preceding March. On that basis, interest rates for the 2026/27 academic year would normally be determined using the RPI figure for March 2026, due to be published on 22 April 2026.

The impact of the interest rate cap on the public purse will depend on the March RPI value.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
124528
Session
2024-26
Related items
Students: Loans
Wednesday, 22 April 2026
Written questions
House of Commons
Students: Loans
Wednesday, 29 April 2026
Written questions
House of Commons
Students: Loans
Friday, 22 May 2026
Written questions
House of Commons
Students: Loans
Monday, 7 September 2026
Written questions
House of Commons
Subjects
Interest rates Loans Students
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk