§ Mr. Andrew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the current rate of student take-up of loans from the Student Loans Company; and what number of loans he estimates will have been taken out by the end of the 1990–91 academic year and 1991–92.
§ Mr. Alan HowarthAs at 28 February 1991, over 109,000 students have applied for a loan from the Student Loans Company. It is too early to say what the take-up rate will be for the current academic year or, of course, for the academic year 1991–92.
§ Mr. Andrew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what number and percentage of applications the Student Loans Company has rejected to date.
§ Mr. Alan HowarthThe Student Loans Company does not reject any valid applications from students whose institutions have correctly certified them as eligible.
Where the application form is invalid—because it has not been completed correctly—the company may need, in 41W certain circumstance, to invite the student to reapply. I am asking the managing director of the company, which is responsible for the administration of the scheme, to write direct to the hon. Member, giving the number of cases where this has happened.
§ Mr. Andrew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what costs he expects the Student Loans Company to face in collecting due loans, separating out(a) collection costs per loan for each year from 1990 to 2027, (b) annual collection costs for each year from 1990 to 2027 and (c) annual loss from loans deemed uncollectable, for the same period.
§ Mr. Alan HowarthInformation is not available in the form requested. The Student Loans Company expects to collect significant numbers of repayments from April 1992. The company does not yet have an approved budget for the financial year 1992–93. However, the Government have consistently forecast annual operational costs for the next few years within the range of £10 to 20 million.
The company will not regard any loans as uncollectable. Where a borrower is granted deferment, he need not make any repayments, although his outstanding loan will continue to be indexed in line with inflation. Where a borrower qualifies for cancellation, the student loans legislation provides for the debt to be cancelled: there is, therefore, nothing to collect. Where a borrower defaults on his repayments, the company will seek recovery of the full sum owed, if necessary by taking him to court.
§ Mr. Andrew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the latest available figure for the number of student loans outstanding; and how much is owed.
§ Mr. Alan HowarthAs a t 28 February 1991, the Student Loans Company had made 82,176 loans, to a total value of £31.095 million.