§ Mr. BowisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education when he expects to lay before the House revised mandatory awards regulations and student loans regulations; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FormanMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education has laid the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations 1992 before Parliament today. Together with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland, he has also laid before Parliament the Education (Student Loans) Regulations 1992.
The mandatory awards regulations come into force on 1 September and the loans regulations on 1 August.
The awards regulations apply to students living in England and Wales. They incorporate the unchanged main rates of grant, uprated supplementary allowances and revised contribution scales. These were announced by my predecessor on 9 March at columns 385–87. They also incorporate some minor changes in terms and conditions.
The loans regulations, which apply to students in Great Britain, provide for the new, higher rates of loan. They also include the 1992–93 income threshold governing the deferment of repayments. Borrowers who satisfy the Student Loans Company that their gross monthly income is £1,130 a month or less, equivalent to £13,560 a year, will be entitled to defer repayments for a year at a time.