Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what financial aid is available to prospective postgraduate students from Northern Ireland who have previously lived and studied in England but are not eligible for a loan from the Student Loans Company as they are classified as not normally resident in this country.

This Government has a long-term commitment to enhancing support for postgraduate study. Increasing the supply of individuals with high-level skills and knowledge boosts earnings, stimulates innovation, and contributes to making the UK more globally competitive. That is why, from Academic Year 2016/17, the Government introduced a postgraduate master’s loan scheme to help remove the financial barrier often faced by those wishing to step up to achieving a master’s level qualification.

Higher education in the UK is a devolved matter, and England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales each operate their own system of student support for home-domiciled students. The Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland has announced plans to introduce postgraduate tuition fee loans for Northern Ireland students from the beginning of Academic Year 2017/18.

Prospective postgraduate students from all parts of the UK are potentially eligible for Professional and Career Development Loans (PCDLs). PCDLs are government-subsidised bank loans that are offered to contribute to the costs of a variety of courses and training that help with career development. Eligible courses include a large range of postgraduate courses and, in recent years, around seven in ten recipients of PCDLs have been those participating in postgraduate study