Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2017 to Question 65926, on overseas students: loans, for what reason there was an increase in the outstanding balance from 2014-15 to 2015-16; and for what reasons the 18 per cent increase in the outstanding balance sits alongside an 11 per cent increase in the amount lent.

The total amount loaned out as English student loans in the financial year 2015-16 increased by 11% compared to the financial year 2014-15 due to increasing numbers of students receiving support and a higher proportion of those students being entitled to more financial support as they are on post-2012 tuition fee loan arrangements.

The main reason the outstanding balance of English student loans was 18% higher at the end of the financial year 2015-16 was that more was loaned out (and therefore added to the outstanding balance) than was repaid in the financial year 2015-16.

A more complete breakdown of the English student loan book can be found in table 1 of the Student Loans Company (SLC) Statistical First Release (SFR) Student Loans in England.

http://www.slc.co.uk/official-statistics/student-loans-debt-and-repayment/england.aspx