The Conversation (0)
Liam O'Dell
Sep 27, 2021
The UK Government Is considering lowering the limit at which university graduates will need to pay back their student loans, according to The Financial Times – in news which has infuriated people online.
The outlet reports that one government minister said “that’s the plan” when it comes to reducing the current threshold, which sees workers begin to pay back loans for their tuition fees when their salary hits £27,295.
However, the FT claims there is talk of a change to this figure, which comes ahead of next month’s spending review by chancellor Rishi Sunak and follows the Augar review into post-18 education and funding from 2019.
In the report, the independent panel chaired by Dr Philip Augar said: “We believe that there should be a stronger expectation that student contributions will be made once a financial benefit is secured. For students in degree-level education we therefore recommend that the most suitable threshold is median non-graduate earnings.
“In 2018-19 prices, this would mean reducing the threshold from £25,000 to £23,000,” they said at the time. “However, the panel would expect this change to be implemented … beginning in academic year 2021/22.”
This recommendation was later responded to in the government’s interim conclusion of the review in January this year, in which they said that the report “highlighted the significant, and growing, taxpayer subsidy in the higher education student finance system”.
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“It is important that the student finance funding systems remain sustainable and that those who benefit from their higher education should make a fair contribution. We intend to freeze the maximum tuition fee cap to deliver better value for students and to keep the cost of higher education under control.
“This will initially be for one year and further changes to the student finance system will be considered ahead of the next Comprehensive Spending Review,” they said.
While no change in the threshold has been officially announced by Downing Street, Twitter users have expressed their fury at the potential plans:
@FT This is going to be the third retrospective change to the ‘contract’ I had with the student loans company.— Aaron Bastani (@Aaron Bastani) 1632687412
@FT someone pls let no. 10 know that currently there are no opportunities for those leaving lower education apart f… https://t.co/RqehkGvvvq— abs (@abs) 1632686398
@FT What a surprise. Not. As if starting working life with £27k+ debt isn't enough, Tories now doing their level be… https://t.co/Oig9wNhAjg— Simon Reynolds (@Simon Reynolds) 1632685278
@FT This will hit normal students from modest backgrounds- not students from privileged backgrounds who wont have l… https://t.co/zeFlv8VB0r— Harmonica 🏴🇪🇺 (@Harmonica 🏴🇪🇺) 1632688421
@FT This government really doesn’t like young people, does it?— Marged Sosban Fach #GTTO 💙🏴🇬🇧🇪🇺 (@Marged Sosban Fach #GTTO 💙🏴🇬🇧🇪🇺) 1632696595
@FT @GeorgeWParker They've really got it in for young people— Michael Way (@Michael Way) 1632688445
Kinda wild how the terms of a contract I signed nearly a decade ago have been changed so often since… 🙃 https://t.co/ja83PKCe5p— Geri Scott (@Geri Scott) 1632740773
Whatever you think of tuition fees and whether students get value for money, surely we can all agree that retroacti… https://t.co/xOm8yZzC2u— Rachel Cunliffe (@Rachel Cunliffe) 1632735181
NUS is totally opposed to any reduction in the repayment threshold, "the injustice is simply astounding" - our VP H… https://t.co/ykj4l7ru27— NUS UK #NewVisionForEducation (@NUS UK #NewVisionForEducation) 1632736046
Yet another attack on young people to finance the mistakes of a clueless government. https://t.co/wh5duSIhE8— Kieran Galpin ✌🏻 (@Kieran Galpin ✌🏻) 1632688698
Students hit by covid changes to their teaching (ie almost no face to face teaching) now facing retrospective chang… https://t.co/8Csefyu1Jn— Hannah Fearn (@Hannah Fearn) 1632740902
I can only conclude some crack team of HMT civil servants have been assembled and given the task of working out inn… https://t.co/q9siWsXAk1— Duncan Weldon (@Duncan Weldon) 1632687721
Obscene. Effectively generational warfare: punishing the young to fund the old. https://t.co/N5MngDW0Wx— Ian Dunt (@Ian Dunt) 1632693549
cost of living crisis latest: - government is planning to cut the earnings threshold at which graduates begin repa… https://t.co/NTrD6WStkp— Jim Pickard (@Jim Pickard) 1632684773
But it’s OK for future graduates to be paying very high marginal tax rates, because you’ll have the deep satisfac… https://t.co/O1fUYYf1uC— Chris Giles (@Chris Giles) 1632686299
“virtually indistinguishable from a tax rise targeted at young workers alone” Surprise, surprise. https://t.co/nscw61mjzp— Stephen McGann💙 (@Stephen McGann💙) 1632685669
No, I'm sorry, this is not happening. No nation-state can prosper by squeezing its young workforce until the pips s… https://t.co/dUTGCYLOju— Glen O'Hara (@Glen O'Hara) 1632730089
This is an appalling and unjustified assault on young people (and students of all ages), a betrayal and a breaking… https://t.co/tJB5aJ0XU1— Tim Farron (@Tim Farron) 1632690240
Sunak plans to reduce the threshold at which students start repaying their loans. Said it before, this is a profou… https://t.co/Fjxk95zek0— Naomi Smith (@Naomi Smith) 1632725022
If the government were to go ahead with the plans, the move would be the latest change to hit pay packets, after controversial proposals to increase national insurance contributions to fund social care were supported by MPs earlier this month.
Responding to a request for comment, a No 10 official directed us to comments made by the prime minister’s spokesman on Monday.
“We’ve had the Augar review and we want to consider the recommendations by the panel and will respond later this year. We have a student loan system which ensures those with the talent and desire to attend higher education can do so whilst ensuring cost is fairly distributed,” he said.
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