Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made on the potential impact of changes to Part 2 student loan repayments and the freezing of interest thresholds on the (a) degree and (b) course choices of young people.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Plan 2 loans were designed and implemented by previous governments. Students in England starting degrees under this government have different arrangements. As these loans are not available for prospective students in England, there is no impact on degree and course choices.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of interest rates on student loans on graduates’ likelihood of becoming home owners.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Interest rates do not impact monthly repayments made by student loan borrowers as repayments are linked to income, not to the amount borrowed or interest applied. If a borrower is earning above the repayment threshold, repayments are made at a constant rate of 9%. This 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 under the repayment threshold of £29,385.
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.
Having an outstanding student loan is not a barrier to accessing a mortgage, however regular student loan repayments will be considered alongside other living costs as part of the affordability check for mortgage applications.
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which types of UK institutions and organisations will be eligible to participate in the Erasmus+ programme.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Erasmus+ is open to learners, trainees and staff in higher education, further education, vocational education and training, schools and adult education. It is also open to young people and youth workers in the youth sector, as well as staff in sports organisations.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help support mature students in universities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As autonomous institutions, higher education (HE) providers are responsible for setting their own timetabling and student support arrangements and in doing so, must take the needs of all students including mature learners, into account.
In January 2027 the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) will launch and transform the HE student finance system. The LLE will give adults, up to the age of 60, access to a flexible, four year loan entitlement to use over their working lives to study full courses and individual modules. The LLE will broaden access at levels 4 to 6 for a range of learners, including those returning to education later in life or studying whilst working.
We are also reintroducing targeted, means-tested maintenance grants, providing disadvantaged students with up to £1,000 extra per year on top of existing loans for living costs from academic year 2028/29.
Together, these reforms modernise the student finance system and ensure that mature students can access the support they need to participate and succeed in HE.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the rates of teacher retention in further education.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Having sufficient and skilled further education (FE) teachers is key to deliver on the government’s skills missions and help learners achieve good outcomes. The department continues to assess retention in the FE workforce based on available data and sector engagement.
The most recent published figures indicate that for FE teachers starting in 2016, 51% were still in post by 2019. For those starting in 2014, 39% were still in post by 2019. The department also collects workforce data through the annual Further Education Workforce Data Collection.
To improve retention, the department is delivering several programmes, including the targeted retention incentive for teachers in priority shortage subjects, reforms to initial teacher education and a strengthened professional development pathway with additional support for special educational needs and disabilities training.
We will also continue to work closely with the sector, including through the Improving Education Together group, to understand drivers of retention and support meaningful improvement in teacher experience.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help support students to challenge issues of free speech on university campuses.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Higher education (HE) must be a space for robust discussion, intellectual rigour and exposure to new ideas. These expectations on our universities are long standing and not negotiable.
There are already routes of redress for students where they believe that a HE provider has breached its duties under the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023. As we have previously set out, students can already make complaints relating to free speech to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, whose service is free at the point of use.
The Office for Students (OfS) already regulates providers in relation to free speech and academic freedom through their existing conditions of registration. The OfS has also issued extensive guidance to HE providers on commencement of their duties, which supports students navigating these issues.
Asked by: Jacob Collier (Labour - Burton and Uttoxeter)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to answer Question 112455 on Teachers: Workplace Pensions from the Rt hon. Member for Burton and Uttoxeter.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The response to Written Parliamentary Question 112455 was published on 20 March 2026.
Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she had made of the potential merits of using the Consumer Prices Index for the calculation of interest charges on students loans.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Interest rates on student loans have been consistently linked to a widely recognised and adopted measure of inflation. Interest rates are set in legislation in reference to the Retail Price Index (RPI) from the previous March and are applied annually on 1 September until 31 August.
The Office for National Statistics has undertaken a substantial programme of work over the past two years to enhance how inflation is measured and this will be carried over into student loans. The Office for Budget Responsibility has confirmed that from 2030 (at the earliest), movements in RPI will be aligned with The Consumer Prices Index as viewed here: https://obr.uk/box/the-long-run-difference-between-rpi-and-cpi-inflation/.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what evaluation has been undertaken to ensure the reintroduced maintenance grants will reach the students who need them most and what steps are being taken to ensure high take-up rates among students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds in Northumberland.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to supporting the aspiration of every person who meets the requirements and wants to attend higher education.
Targeted maintenance grants from the academic year 2028/29 onwards will provide up to £1,000 extra support per year to students from low income households studying courses aligned with the government’s missions and Industrial Strategy. It will be crucial that the subject list is informed by the best and most up-to-date evidence on skills needs, and we will confirm which subjects will be eligible for grants closer to launch. The grants will be available to new and continuing students undertaking full-time courses at levels 4 to 6, including technical qualifications and degrees, at university or college.
In parallel, we have established a Task and Finish Group to tackle regional disparities in access and the most systemic barriers across the journey into higher education for disadvantaged students.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has had recent correspondence with universities on the enforcement of freedom of speech guidelines.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has not had recent correspondence with universities on the enforcement of the free speech duties. This answer does not cover any correspondence which the Office for Students may have had with universities on enforcement of freedom of speech.