Meeting of the Parliament 06 March 2018
I reiterate that it is important that we encourage young people to choose the destination after school that is right for them. Universities, colleges, direct moves into employment and apprenticeships are all equally valid and valued opportunities for our young people, so the Government’s commitment to widening access to university should by no means be read as a sign that university is the right destination for a young person to choose. It is up to the young person, depending on their ambitions for their career.
I saw the pictures of the member with the apprentices, and it looked a thoroughly interesting visit.
As I said, the review of student support looked at a number of different challenges that we have within the student support system. Some things will be able to be achieved for the next academic year and others will not. If something requires, for example, a change to the Student Loans Company rule book, that will require us to look at a longer time period. If we did not do that but simply piggybacked on a scheme that is already in place, there might be a disadvantage. For example, we might have to join the system that is already in place in England, with a higher interest rate. There would be disadvantages to moving quickly if, by doing that, we joined a system that was detrimental, particularly to those from the poorest backgrounds.
However, that does not mean that the Government is not taking action on the matter. We have already taken action to ensure that almost 3,000 additional students qualified for a non-repayable bursary or saw their funding increase last year due to our decision to raise the income threshold from £17,000 to £19,000, and we confirmed in the programme for government our commitment to raising the repayment threshold for student loans to £22,000 and reducing the repayment period to 30 years, as well as implementing the care-experienced student bursary.
We are taking action on the matter and we will take action for the next financial year where we can, but other aspects of the review of student support will take longer.