Student Loans: Westminster Is Finally Listening and Need to Hear From You

Earlier this year, I set out why the Government’s decision to freeze student loan repayment thresholds amounts to a stealth tax on young people here in Newbury and across the country. Since then, there’s been a significant development in Westminster, and one that could genuinely help to shape the future of student finance.

Parliament’s Treasury Committee has now launched a new inquiry into whether the student loan system is fair, looking specifically at repayment terms, the threshold freeze, and the broader taxation of graduates. MPs have recognised the “widespread dissatisfaction” among graduates, driven by rising interest rates and unexpectedly high marginal tax burdens on Plan 2 borrowers.

This matters. A lot.

Graduates who took out Plan 2 loans, that’s anyone who started university from 2012 to 2023, are now leaving with average debts of over £50,000. And while wages have not kept up with the cost of living, the Government has decided to freeze the repayment threshold at £29,385 from 2027 to 2030, rather than letting it rise with inflation. That means more graduates being pulled into repayments earlier, even on modest incomes.

For many young people, especially those just starting their careers, this isn’t a minor policy detail, it’s a real financial hit at the worst possible moment.

Here in Newbury and West Berkshire, graduates and their parents regularly tell me they’re struggling with housing costs, transport, and energy bills. Layering higher student loan repayments on top of that only deepens the pressure. And for those who had to borrow heavily just to cover basic living costs while studying, the extended repayment periods, now up to 40 years under newer plans, risk keeping people in debt for the majority of their working lives.

That’s not a fair deal. It's moving the goalposts long after students signed up. As Dame Meg Hillier, who chairs the Committee, put it, the inquiry is fundamentally about fairness and whether graduates are being treated reasonably by a system that has shifted beneath their feet.

But here’s the important bit: The Committee wants to hear directly from you.

Anyone over 16 can share their experiences through an online survey, covering everything from how repayments affect your monthly budget to whether you feel you were adequately informed about the loan you took on.

Take part in the official survey here: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=nt3mHDeziEC-Xo277ASzSugWXtlS9G1OpuyhNtc2h8lURjBYV1pUQ0FKWEUzTEpUSkdCQktYRzRPUCQlQCN0PWcu

If you’re a graduate who feels the system isn’t working, or you’re a parent, employer, or current student, your perspective could help shape the Committee’s recommendations. Evidence from real people carries weight.

As your MP, I will keep pressing for a fairer and more transparent system: one that uprates thresholds properly, restores meaningful maintenance support, and stops treating student finance as an easy target when the Government needs extra revenue.

Higher education should open doors, not trap young people under decades of debt. If we want meaningful change, now is the moment to speak up.