Students: Loans
(asked on 9th October 2026) - View Source
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Plan 2 repayment threshold freeze on graduates working as (a) teachers, (b) nurses and (c) other public sector professionals.
The student loans system inherited by the department, including Plan 2 loans, was devised by the previous government.
This government increased the Plan 2 repayment threshold in 2025 for the first time since 2021. It increased the threshold again to £29,385 on 6 April 2026 and will remain at this level until April 2030, after which it will increase annually in line with inflation. The threshold freeze was introduced to protect taxpayers and students now, alongside future generations of learners and workers.
The department produced the following analysis regarding the impact of freezing the repayment and interest thresholds:
2024/25 financial year prices | ||||
| Baseline | Post policy | Impact (£) | |
Entire cohort | £27,000 | £28,300 | £1,300 | |
Average | ||||
Lifetime graduate earnings decile | 1 | £2,000 | £2,000 | £0 |
2 | £4,300 | £4,700 | £400 | |
3 | £7,700 | £8,100 | £400 | |
4 | £11,600 | £13,000 | £1,400 | |
5 | £16,900 | £18,500 | £1,600 | |
6 | £23,100 | £25,200 | £2,100 | |
7 | £31,300 | £33,600 | £2,300 | |
8 | £41,200 | £43,500 | £2,300 | |
9 | £54,500 | £56,100 | £1,600 | |
10 | £59,100 | £59,500 | £400 | |
The department will publish an equality impact assessment covering the Plan 2 repayment and interest threshold freezes announced at Autumn Budget 2025, including their effect on lifetime repayments and other borrower outcomes. Published results may differ from the figures above because of subsequent model and data updates.