Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential (a) financial and (b) administrative effect of the lifelong loan entitlement on higher education providers.

The Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE) will be introduced from 2025, providing individuals with a loan entitlement to the equivalent of four years of post-18 education to use over their lifetime. It will be available for both modules and full years of study at higher technical and degree levels (levels 4 to 6), regardless of whether they are provided in colleges or universities. The government intends that the LLE will create new opportunities for providers to offer more flexible learning pathways for students and develop new business models.

The impact assessment published alongside the Skills and Post-18 Education Bill included a significant section on the LLE. This was produced as part of an ongoing process, assessing and carefully considering the possible effects of the LLE and how best to deliver it.

We are also actively speaking with higher education and further education providers, including considering the operational implications on their administrative and financial structures. We will continue to engage to understand provider needs as we build towards introduction from 2025.

There is also potential for income gain through new learners entering the system. Although the tuition fee income gains from new learners may be more modest given the shorter duration of courses, large enough numbers could result in a net benefit to higher education and further education providers on average.