Written question asked by Liam Byrne (Labour) on Monday, 2 December 2013, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 5 December 2013 (named day). It was answered by Lord Willetts (Conservative) on Thursday, 5 December 2013 on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Students: Fees and Charges

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what changes in assumptions were made when his Department revised its estimate of the RAB charge to 35 per cent;

Answer

We use the latest independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) short-term and long-term macroeconomic forecasts from March 2013 to calculate the RAB charge. These are published under the following URL:

http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/category/publications/

Changes to estimates of earnings growth, inflation and Bank of England base rates will all have an impact on the calculation of the RAB charge. We also use loan account data provided by the Student Loans Company (SLC) to ensure that the RAB charge is calculated using the most up-to-date loan account information available. The revision of the RAB charge to 35% is attributed to new OBR forecasts being published and to updates in the loan account information provided by the SLC.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 177925; 571 cc823-4W
Session: 2013-14
Subjects: Fees and charges Students
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk

Students: Fees and Charges

Secondary information

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