Student Loans

Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted Excerpts

Thursday 23rd July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay]

My Lords, that is a key example of our taking on board comments and making changes. That is exactly what we have done in response to the representation from Martin Lewis pointing out that, on one section of the website, the message that he was keen to see was not present. It has now been put there.

[Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted (LD) [V]]

On the Student Loans Company website, David Wallace, the CEO, has written in his blog:

“It’s vitally important that graduates understand that a student loan works very differently to other types of borrowing”.


That statement is not on the part of the site on extra payments, which I think would be helpful. I do not believe that just mentioning the written-off condition helps, so surely that warning, a statement that extra payments will not reduce monthly or annual payments, and, perhaps, a minimum income threshold before extra payments are permitted without additional checks should all be applied.

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay]

My Lords, that message, which was present on other parts of the site, has been present since 17 July on the section for making voluntary repayments as well, but student finance is, in law, a loan, so the Student Loans Company of course has to follow the legislation as it stands.