Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of assessing the income of a parent’s cohabiting partner who is not (a) a legal parent and (b) step-parent when determining eligibility for student maintenance loans on access to higher education.

For most full-time undergraduate students under the age of 25, the Student Loans Company (SLC) assess the income of students’ parents and, where applicable, parental partners to determine household income. This ensures that the highest levels of support are targeted at students from the lowest income families.

Entitlement to maintenance loans based on the income of students’ parents or, where their parents have separated, the income of the more appropriate parent (usually the parent with whom the student normally lives) and, where applicable, that of the parent’s partner.

The household income assessment allows the SLC to process around 1.4 million applications for student support each year in time for the start of the relevant academic year.