HomeNewsOpposition Day Debate on Student Loans 19th Allotted Day

Opposition Day Debate on Student Loans 19th Allotted Day

  • 18/03/2026
  • Posted by: Valerie Vaz MP
  • Category: News
On 18 March 2026, the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, Laura Trott MP (Conservative) moved the motion on Student Loans: 
“That this House calls on the Government to set the interest rate on Plan 2 student loans at a level which ensures that balances will never rise faster than RPI inflation; further calls on the Government to stop the freeze on repayment thresholds; and also calls on the Government to create more apprenticeships for 18-21 year olds, funded by controlling the number of places on university courses where the benefits are significantly outweighed by the cost to graduates and taxpayers.”

Throughout the debate, concerns about Plan 2 loans – those for undergraduate students who began their courses between 2012 and 2023 – were raised. These loans were designed, implemented and operated by  previous Conservative and Con:Lib Governments.

It is a system that this Government would never have designed, due to the worries and pressure it places on graduates.

When this Government was elected, it immediately recognised the pressure on Plan 2 borrowers. The repayment threshold was raised in 2025, and will be raised again this year to £29,385, ensuring that it is higher than average graduate salaries three years after a course is completed. That is two increases to the threshold in two years – the same number of increases as in the 12 years after Plan 2 loans were first introduced. In fact, payment thresholds were frozen for ten years under previous Governments.

Under the previous Government, tuition fees trebled, maintenance grants were scrapped, and youth apprenticeships were cut by 40%. In its last three years in office, the number of NEETs – young people not in employment, education or training – rose by 250,000.

This Government is providing a new deal for young people. There is a new target for two thirds of young people to be in an apprenticeship or at university, new youth and job guarantees, and a new approach to encourage technical learning while earning. All these programmes will give young people the support they need to thrive.

It is clear that there are problems present in the student loan system, and the Government recognising that work is needed to improve it, and its commitment to keeping the system under review.

The Motion was rejected:  Ayes 88, Noes 266 and the amendment in the name of the Prime Minister was resolved: 
“That this House recognises that the Government inherited the current broken student loans system, including Plan 2, which was devised by previous administrations; welcomes the Government’s commitment to make the system fairer and financially sustainable; further welcomes the support the Government is providing to young people through the Youth Guarantee; supports the Government’s target for two thirds of young people to achieve higher level skills by the age of 25, including reversing the decline in apprenticeships under the previous Government; and further supports the reintroduction of maintenance grants, which had been scrapped under the previous Government, to help ensure that background is not a barrier to opportunity for young people.”