Annex A: Timeline of student
loan policies
· 1990:
Student loans introduced to support students.
· 1990-1998:
'Mortgage-style' loans issued. Borrowers earning above a threshold
amount repay a fixed monthly amount over a fixed period. Approximately
£4 billion paid out.
· 1998
& 1999: Two sales passed a passed a large proportion of mortgage-style
student loan-book to the private sector.
· 1998-PRESENT:
'Income-contingent' loans issued. Repayments and interest charges
depend on borrowers' earnings. Borrowers only repay once earning
above a set threshold. Approximately £51 billion paid out
to date.
· NOV
2013: The Government announced the sale of the remaining mortgage
style loans to a private investment consortium. Book value of
£890 million sold for £160 million.
· NOV
2013: The National Audit Office (NAO) published a report on student
loan repayments. It published a review of the processes behind
collection and made recommendations to improve.
· DEC
2013-PRESENT: The Government confirmed
that the Department was preparing to sell early cohorts of the
income-contingent repayment loan book. This sale should depend
entirely on the Department's ability to prove value for money,
and the Permanent Secretary, as Accounting Officer, will take
a sale decision in due course.
· JAN
2014: The Business, Innovation and Skills Committee conducted
an inquiry into student loans.[120]
89.
120 Source National Audit
Office and Business, Innovation and Skills Committee analysis Back
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