Million Plus

MillionPlus, the Association for Modern Universities, has today (7 December) commented on the sale of the pre-2006 student loan book, calling for the proceeds of the sale, which will bring a £1.7bn receipt to the Treasury, to be reinvested in higher education and restoring student maintenance grants.

Pam Tatlow, Chief Executive of MillionPlus, said:

“It will be interesting to see if the government has offered an indemnity to the buyers of the student loan book in the event that it changes the rules under which the loans are repaid.

“However, rather than the proceeds of the sale being beavered away into Treasury coffers, it should be reinvested in higher education and more support for the students of today and tomorrow. The government removed their entitlement to student maintenance grants in 2016, saying that they were ‘unaffordable’. There could be no better use of the £1.7bn than to restore these maintenance grants with immediate effect.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. MillionPlus is the Association for Modern Universities. More information can be found at www.millionplus.ac.uk
2. The details of the sale were announced in a written Statement by Universities Minister Jo Johnson MP on 6 December. MPs will have an opportunity to review the details of the sale and the extent to which it provides value for money when a report is laid in Parliament. Ministers have given an assurance that the sale itself will not alter the terms and conditions of the borrowers
3. Modern universities: key facts 2017
4. For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact Dan Blows on 020 7717 1658 or email press@millionplus.ac.uk