§ Mr. OatenTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will publish(a) the recommended 549W targets set and (b) the actual outcomes achieved by the Student Loans Company for processing loan claims in 1998. [102983]
§ Mr. Wicks[holding answer 16 December 1999]: The target set for the Student Loans Company for processing loan claims in 1998–99 academic year under the new loans scheme was
to pay 100 per cent. of loan applications within 14 calendar days of receiving an application form excluding (a) any excess time (beyond two working days) that it takes HEIs to submit eligibility certificates; and (b) any time taken to receive additional information from borrowers or HEIs".For the old loans scheme, the target set for 1998–99 was
to pay 100 per cent of loans within 21 days of receiving an actionable application form, excluding (a) any excess time (beyond two working days) that it takes HEIs to submit eligibility certificates and borrowers to receive and return credit agreements and (b) to obtain additional or corrected information from borrowers or HEIs.The outturn figures for 1998–99 AY are not yet available. In 1997–98 AY, the Company achieved an outturn of 99.3 per cent. against a target of 98 per cent. of loans to be paid within 21 days.
§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will estimate the(a) number of students in receipt of student loans and (b) value of student loans to be paid, in (i) 1999–2000, (ii) 2000–2001 and (iii) 2001–02, [102878]
§ Mr. Wicks[holding answer 16 December 1999]: On the basis of the number of students who have taken out loans this year, we estimate that in the region of 700,000 UK students will take out loans to a UK value of £1,400 million this financial year. Figures for future years are not yet available.
§ Mr. BoswellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many students have not received in full their entitlement to student loans this autumn; how many have received partial advances; and if he will make a statement on the overall operation of the student support system. [103120]
§ Mr. WicksThere have been 381,000 applications from students for a loan. 374,000 cheques have been issued to students to date, the remaining applications, which are nearly all from students who applied only recently, are being processed, half of these have failed validation checks. Students are able to borrow up to their full entitlement to support on two occasions during the academic year if they choose to do so. It is not possible to identify the number of applicants who have so far applied for less than their full entitlement.
All parties involved in the provision of Student Support have worked well to implement the new arrangements effectively.