Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to help increase the income of university graduates on (a) low and (b) middle-incomes in Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend constituency.

This government is committed to supporting all students and graduates, including those in Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend. Plan 2 and 3 student loan schemes were created by the previous government, but this government has capped their interest rates at 6% for the next academic year. This will protect graduates from escalating interest rates caused by the conflict in the Middle East. We have already increased the repayment threshold for Plan 2 student loans in April 2025 and 2026, which had previously been frozen since 2021. We will also reintroduce maintenance grants from academic year 2028/29, to support students from low-income households.

More broadly, this Government is supporting young people, many of whom are graduates, in ways few governments have before:

· Childcare – cutting the cost by up to £7,500 for an average family across a year.

· Housing – ambition to build 1.5 million more homes this Parliament to get people on the housing ladder.

· Renters’ Rights Act – stopping bidding wars, stronger powers for renters to protect deposits and prevent unfair hidden charges.

· Leasehold Reform – freezing ground rents and cracking down on exploitative service charges.