The department recently published a set of statistics presenting analysis of earnings and lifetime repayment forecasts for student loans in England, which looks at the level of earnings required to reduce student loan balances, taking interest accrual into account. These statistics are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/student-loan-forecasts-earnings/2025-26.

The government has capped the maximum interest rates on Plan 2 and 3 student loans at 6% for the 2026/27 academic year. We are clear it does not resolve all the issues with the inherited Plan 2 system. We are considering a range of options to make the system fairer. However, to be fiscally responsible, we must consider how any change would be funded.

To the nearest 10, the number of students studying courses run by UK Management College in receipt of Student Loans Company (SLC) support in the 2024/25 academic year was 3,360, as of 31 August 2025.

To the nearest million, the total amount of Student Finance England funding paid to students studying courses run by UK Management College in receipt of SLC support for the 2024/25 academic year was £62 million, as of 31 August 2025.

To the nearest 10, the number of students studying courses run by UK Management College in receipt of Student Loans Company (SLC) support in the 2024/25 academic year was 3,360, as of 31 August 2025.

To the nearest million, the total amount of Student Finance England funding paid to students studying courses run by UK Management College in receipt of SLC support for the 2024/25 academic year was £62 million, as of 31 August 2025.

As referenced in the response to HL3068 on 15 September 2026, Jobcentre Plus work coaches can provide self-employment information and support to customers and signpost them to specialist national or local organisations that provide advice, including in relation to finance, to support people to start a business.

The Department for Work and Pensions does not offer financial advice about business loans or advise customers about specific loan providers. Therefore, the department has not engaged with specific microfinance organisations that provide loans to unemployed people to help them start their own business.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

Eligibility for student finance is not based on nationality, but on immigration status and residency. This ensures that access to support reflects an individual’s established connection to the UK rather than their nationality alone.

Generally, a student must be ordinarily resident in England and be settled or have a recognised connection with the UK to be eligible. They must also have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands, including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, for the three years preceding the first day of the first academic year of their course. Those granted international protection by the Home Office do not need to have settled status or meet the usual three-year ordinary residence requirement.

When a borrower moves overseas, their obligation to repay their student loan remains. If a borrower chooses not to engage with the Student Loan Company (SLC), arrears will build up on the student loan account. The SLC work with a debt collection agency to target borrowers with outstanding arrears. Further action, including legal proceedings, may also be taken to recover the debt.

Reducing high debt service costs will create more fiscal space and allow partner countries to scale public investment. The government will also work in partnership with developing countries to support them to raise more domestic revenues, improving the efficiency of public spending, and tackling waste, corruption, and illicit flows. Delivery is managed through staff in the UK and overseas, the oversight of UK Delegations to the Multilateral Development Banks and established programme management processes.

Decisions on student loan repayment arrangements must be considered alongside wider fiscal priorities, the long-term sustainability of the higher education (HE) funding system and value for money for taxpayers. The department has already taken decisive action against inflationary pressures by capping the maximum interest rates on Plan 2 and Plan 3 loans at 6% for the 2026/27 academic year, protecting borrowers from inflation shocks.

The Office for National Statistics has confirmed that it will bring the methods and data sources used to calculate the Consumer Prices Index, including owner occupiers' housing costs, into the Retail Prices Index from February 2030. The government will continue to consider the appropriate treatment of inflation measures within the student finance system as part of its ongoing consideration of HE funding and student support arrangements.

As repayments are income-contingent, borrowers earning below the relevant repayment threshold make no repayments. For borrowers with undergraduate loans who earn no income, interest accrues at Retail Price Index, so the balance does not increase in real terms.

Student loans may also be cancelled where a borrower is permanently unfit for work because of a disability and meets the relevant eligibility and evidence requirements. At the end of the loan term, any outstanding debt, including interest accrued, is written off. The government continues to look for opportunities to improve the student finance system as part of its ongoing consideration of higher education funding.

Plan 1 loans, and the decisions on their design, were made by previous governments. Although both pre-2006 and post-2006 loans were labelled Plan 1, they are different types of loan. Post-2006 Plan 1 loans had a 25-year repayment term, but higher tuition fees resulted in larger loan balances. Pre-2006 borrowers benefited from lower tuition fee loans and lower balances, with loans written off at the age of 65.

When a new student loan plan is introduced, its terms, including the repayment period, are considered as a whole and are set in legislation for that specific loan type. These terms are not applied retrospectively to borrowers who took out loans under earlier plans.

In relation to the pre-2006 Plan 1 cancellation, ‘The Student Loans: A guide to terms and conditions’ from the academic year 1998/99 states, “Before you reach 65 you will have to make repayments until you have paid off all that you owe. How long this takes will depend on your income during your working life. Once you reach 65 your loan will be cancelled.”

There are no plans to review pre-2006 Plan 1 terms, including the age 65 write-off.

Plan 1 loans, and the decisions on their design, were made by previous governments. Although both pre-2006 and post-2006 loans were labelled Plan 1, they are different types of loan. Post-2006 Plan 1 loans had a 25-year repayment term, but higher tuition fees resulted in larger loan balances. Pre-2006 borrowers benefited from lower tuition fee loans and lower balances, with loans written off at the age of 65.

When a new student loan plan is introduced, its terms, including the repayment period, are considered as a whole and are set in legislation for that specific loan type. These terms are not applied retrospectively to borrowers who took out loans under earlier plans.

In relation to the pre-2006 Plan 1 cancellation, ‘The Student Loans: A guide to terms and conditions’ from the academic year 1998/99 states, “Before you reach 65 you will have to make repayments until you have paid off all that you owe. How long this takes will depend on your income during your working life. Once you reach 65 your loan will be cancelled.”

There are no plans to review pre-2006 Plan 1 terms, including the age 65 write-off.

Plan 1 loans, and the decisions on their design, were made by previous governments. Although both pre-2006 and post-2006 loans were labelled Plan 1, they are different types of loan. Post-2006 Plan 1 loans had a 25-year repayment term, but higher tuition fees resulted in larger loan balances. Pre-2006 borrowers benefited from lower tuition fee loans and lower balances, with loans written off at the age of 65.

When a new student loan plan is introduced, its terms, including the repayment period, are considered as a whole and are set in legislation for that specific loan type. These terms are not applied retrospectively to borrowers who took out loans under earlier plans.

In relation to the pre-2006 Plan 1 cancellation, ‘The Student Loans: A guide to terms and conditions’ from the academic year 1998/99 states, “Before you reach 65 you will have to make repayments until you have paid off all that you owe. How long this takes will depend on your income during your working life. Once you reach 65 your loan will be cancelled.”

There are no plans to review pre-2006 Plan 1 terms, including the age 65 write-off.

The Government set out the fiscal impacts of maintaining at its current level the Plan 2 repayment threshold at Autumn Budget 2025.

The Office for Budget Responsibility will publish an updated forecast, reflecting the latest economic and fiscal determinants, alongside Budget 2026.

The Government set out the fiscal impacts of maintaining at its current level the Plan 2 repayment threshold at Autumn Budget 2025.

The Office for Budget Responsibility will publish an updated forecast, reflecting the latest economic and fiscal determinants, alongside Budget 2026.

The Government considers the impacts of tax and spending decisions, including incentives to work and labour supply, in the round at fiscal events.

The Government recognises that the student loan system we inherited is of significant concern to graduates. We will continue to keep all aspects of the student finance system under review to ensure the fairness of the system for graduates and taxpayers.

The department recognises that the student finance system we inherited is not working as fairly or effectively as it should and we are constantly looking for financially sustainable ways to make the system fairer for students, graduates and taxpayers.

Repayments are made at a constant rate of 9% above the earnings threshold (£29,385) and the 9% rate strikes a balance between affordability for graduates and fairness to taxpayers. For example, someone earning £30,000 will repay around £4 per month in the 2026/27 financial year.

Those earning below the earnings threshold do not make repayments. Any outstanding loan, including interest built up, is cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.

This is a deliberate government investment in students and the economy. The 9% over-threshold repayment rate keeps higher education (HE) funding sustainable and ensures the costs are shared fairly between students and taxpayers.

Reducing the repayment rate to 5% would significantly increase the cost to taxpayers, many of whom have not attended university, which in turn would undermine the sustainability of HE funding.

The department recognises that the student finance system we inherited is not working as fairly or effectively as it should and we are constantly looking for financially sustainable ways to make the system fairer for students, graduates and taxpayers.

Repayments are made at a constant rate of 9% above the earnings threshold (£29,385) and the 9% rate strikes a balance between affordability for graduates and fairness to taxpayers. For example, someone earning £30,000 will repay around £4 per month in the 2026/27 financial year.

Those earning below the earnings threshold do not make repayments. Any outstanding loan, including interest built up, is cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.

This is a deliberate government investment in students and the economy. The 9% over-threshold repayment rate keeps higher education (HE) funding sustainable and ensures the costs are shared fairly between students and taxpayers.

Reducing the repayment rate to 5% would significantly increase the cost to taxpayers, many of whom have not attended university, which in turn would undermine the sustainability of HE funding.

The department recognises that the student finance system we inherited is not working as fairly or effectively as it should and we are constantly looking for financially sustainable ways to make the system fairer for students, graduates and taxpayers.

Repayments are made at a constant rate of 9% above the earnings threshold (£29,385) and the 9% rate strikes a balance between affordability for graduates and fairness to taxpayers. For example, someone earning £30,000 will repay around £4 per month in the 2026/27 financial year.

Those earning below the earnings threshold do not make repayments. Any outstanding loan, including interest built up, is cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.

This is a deliberate government investment in students and the economy. The 9% over-threshold repayment rate keeps higher education (HE) funding sustainable and ensures the costs are shared fairly between students and taxpayers.

Reducing the repayment rate to 5% would significantly increase the cost to taxpayers, many of whom have not attended university, which in turn would undermine the sustainability of HE funding.