MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough Tom Gordon has called on the Government to install a ‘fairer’ student loan repayment system.
Tom called the current system a ‘burden’ on students and told ministers to update the student loan repayment thresholds and review the current interest rate structure.
In recent years there have been a number of changes to the student loan system that have resulted in graduates being required to pay back more sooner, including the introduction of Plan 5 loans and retrospective changes to terms and conditions of existing loans.
The Chancellor’s decision to freeze repayment thresholds for Plan 2 loans as part of the Autumn Budget has seen renewed calls for from graduates, campaigners and money saving expert, Martin Lewis, for a fairer student loan system.
Tabling a motion in Parliament, Tom Gordon MP said:
“As someone with a Plan 2 and postgraduate loan I empathise with the growing frustration around student loan terms and conditions.
“The system was never intended to burden people for the rest of their lives.
“The aim was to introduce a manageable system by which working people could manage their debt through affordable repayments once they entered employment.
He added:
“Graduates are entering an already difficult job market, and in the face of a cost-of-living crisis it is wrong for them to face these additional financial pressures.
“I am calling on the Government to urgently begin uprating the graduate repayment thresholds, to ensure new graduates on lower incomes are not disadvantaged and to reconsider the current interest rate structure.
“The student loan system must remain fair, proportionate and supportive of aspiration.”
The motion notes the sustained pressures on graduates in the face of a cost-of-living crisis and recognises the disproportionate impact of these changes on middle income earners, highlighting that it creates a significant barrier to social mobility.
The current structure of RPI-linked interest rates frequently results in loan balances growing faster than borrowers are able to repay them.
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