HC Deb 01 November 2000 vol 355 c482W
Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what the average level of student debt is after a three year course in higher education. [134686]

Mr. Wicks

The average debt of a borrower with a mortgage-style student loan entering repayment at the start of the financial year 1999–2000, the latest date for which data are available, was £3,210.

Information on private sector debt such as overdrafts and other commercial loans is not available centrally.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what representations he has received about the student loan repayment administration regulations. [134723]

Mr. Wicks

The regulations governing the repayment of student loans through the tax system from April 2000 were subject to wide consultation. We received a number of helpful suggestions from employer representatives about new arrangements, which are aligned closely to the administration of tax and national insurance. We have announced that we will conduct a review of the impact of the regulations on small businesses in July 2001 and we plan to conduct a full evaluation of the scheme in 2003.