Student Loans

Debate between Rosie Wrighting and Georgia Gould

Wednesday 18th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Georgia Gould]

I thank my hon. Friend for making that point. As she knows, increasing security for women on maternity leave is a really important part of this Government’s agenda, and that is why we are taking forward the Employment Rights Act 2025. It is important to note that in the system, if income goes below a threshold and someone is out of work generally, they will not have to pay. That is very different from a commercial loan, but I will absolutely take her point back.

The student loan system delivers tuition fee funding—some £10.7 billion in 2024-25—to our world-class higher education sector, a sector that remains by any objective metric one of our nation’s greatest exports and a global beacon of intellectual excellence. It is important that we remember what is at stake here. From pioneering laboratories developing quantum computing and agritech to those at the forefront of advanced manufacturing and genomics, our universities are the primary engines of the research that will define the 21st century, and the impact of our universities goes beyond their pivotal contribution to the economy and the careers of individual learners. By exposing students to diverse perspectives and expanding their social horizons, these institutions help our young people to build the networks, resilience and life skills that define a person long after they have graduated.

[Rosie Wrighting (Kettering) (Lab)]

I have a creative arts degree. Not only did it give me the opportunity to meet people, importantly, it enabled me to access the fashion industry as somebody growing up outside of London. Does the Minister share my concern that removing those degrees would create London-centric creative industries?

[Georgia Gould]

I thank my hon. Friend for that powerful point. Her creative arts degree was of huge benefit in getting her to this place.