1. Government challenged over student loan “shambles”
The Government was this week challenged over the “shambles” in the processing of student finance applications during a House of Commons debate on higher education.
Minister for Higher Education and Intellectual Property, David Lammy indicated that despite the Government providing the Student Loans Company with an additional £6.9 million in support, it had still fallen short of public expectations.
He highlighted that Professor Sir Deian Hopkin of London South Bank University and Bernadette Kenny of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs had been seconded to the SLC to review the system and structures for next years applications.
Conservative Shadow Minister for Universities and Skills, David Willetts asserted that the situation with student loans was ‘a shambles, and it is causing enormous distress to many students’. He stressed that the new system had caused increasing complexity and that Ministers were constant trying to avoid the blame for the shortcomings of the system.
Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Universities and Skills, Stephen Williams indicated that the SLC should also have foreseen that there would be a rise in applications this year after UCAS had released statistics at various stages in the past academic year pointing to this.
He further claimed that it was in fact the fifth fiasco that has been presided over either by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills or by the former Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, but that this one may lead to the university experience of students being marred or worse still them having to face the option of dropping out.
2. Government provides reassurance over student loan book sale
The Prime Minister's plan to sell the student loan book in England will not mean higher loan repayments for students, the business department said last week.
The Government is looking to sell around £3bn worth of assets over the next two years to reduce its deficit. However, this would not mean any change for students, said a spokesperson for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The plan to sell off the student loan book is part of a wider proposal to raise £16 billion from assets held by government, which could also include the Tote and the Dartford Bridge and tunnel crossing.
It also coincides with the forthcoming independent review of student finance in England - which will decide whether tuition fees should be increased.
There have also been suggestions that the subsidy on student loans should be reduced - which would make students bear more of the costs of university. However, there are not expected to be any recommendations on student finance until after the next general election.
3. MPs sign motion on the Student Loans Company
A new early day motion (EDM) was tabled in the House of Commons last week, which has been signed by 23 MPs.
The text of the motion is as follows: “That this House is extremely concerned over the failings of the Student Loans Company to deal effectively with student applications for loans in 2009; notes that when most students had commenced their courses on 4 October 2009, 175,000 were waiting for their loans of which 136,410 were first time applicants; further notes that, despite commitments to manage the backlog, 116,000 undergraduates have received no money; recognises that the Student Loan Company has had to deal with record numbers of applications but has failed to prepare adequately for the increased demand; and calls on the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to carry out an immediate inquiry into the operation of the Student Loans Company to prevent a reoccurrence in 2010.”