ONS Decisions: Student Loans Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

ONS Decisions: Student Loans

Daniel Zeichner Excerpts
Tuesday 18th December 2018

(5 years, 11 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Elizabeth Truss Portrait Elizabeth Truss
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As I have said, the Government no longer mark their own homework on these issues. It is down to the independent OBR to produce that forecast.

Daniel Zeichner Portrait Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)
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The terms of reference for the Augar review say that

“its recommendations must be consistent with the Government’s fiscal policies to reduce the deficit and have debt falling as a percentage of GDP.”

Is it not absolutely clear that this ONS reclassification reduces the resources available to further and higher education?

Elizabeth Truss Portrait Elizabeth Truss
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I have been very clear that this decision, which is fundamentally an accounting decision, will not affect the outcome of the review.