England - Student loan repayments on the up ...

[klr]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11519148

Student loan repayment threshold set to rise to £21,000

The government plans to increase the salary at which graduates in England start to repay their tuition fees from £15,000 to £21,000.

This has emerged ahead of the long-awaited publication of Lord Browne's review of higher education funding.

He is expected to recommend allowing universities to charge unlimited fees, but with measures to limit fees of more than about £6,000 to £7,000.

Ministers also plan to increase grants and loans for poorer students.

The government is also considering asking all but the poorest graduates in England to pay a higher rate of interest on their student loans.

Currently all graduates pay a low interest rate, linked to the base rate, on their tuition fee and maintenance loans.

The review, by former BP chief Lord Browne, is due to publish its recommendations on Tuesday.

But as the Liberal Democrats campaigned in the election against fee rises - and all the party's MPs have signed a pledge to oppose them - ministers have been trying to reach a compromise that will be progressive enough to secure their backing.

The two sides are thought not to have reached a deal yet.

With a nod to this, Prime Minister David Cameron told reporters at Downing Street on Monday the issue was "very difficult" for the coalition.

He said: "Everybody has to compromise because the truth is that we all want the same thing."

He added: "The work that has been done by Vince Cable and David Willetts and others is so good that we hope we will all be able to sign up to getting a bold and radical reform of university finance."

Ministers have moved towards charging most graduates a flat rate of interest on their loans, with only graduates on low salaries enjoying a lower rate.

The threshold for paying the money back would be raised from the current level of £15,000 to £21,000.

Currently graduates who took loans out after 1998 pay interest rates of 1.5% - but this was only introduced this September - the previous year it was fixed at 0% for that year.

It is also expected that there would also be pressure on universities to provide more bursaries.

Lord Browne's review is expected to recommend scrapping the upper limit on tuition fees in England.

Universities would be able to keep all of tuition fees up to about £6,000 or £7,000, but beyond that point they would only be able to keep a diminishing proportion of the fee paid by students.

This would mean more than doubling the current tuition fee of £3,290. And if the major cuts expected in the comprehensive spending review go ahead - it could mean few extra resources for a struggling university sector.

Andy Westwood, chief executive of GuildHE which represents some universities said: "Not all higher education institutions will be able to charge more for many of their courses.

"Lifting the cap on fees could be very damaging for them if coupled with across the board cuts in public funding for certain subjects."

Lord Browne's review of fees relates only to England but its recommendations will be watched closely by university vice-chancellors in the other nations who are facing the same funding conundrum.

No UK student has to pay their fees up front - instead, the university is paid directly from the public purse, and the student pays the loan back after graduation.

Scottish students studying in Scotland do not have to pay any fees.

In the other nations, students take out loans to cover their costs, in Wales these are subsidised to a degree by the Welsh Assembly depending on income.

Just remember: The devil is in the detail. Read carefully before you react.

[Pappa]

I'm lucky.... the threshold for me was and always will be the national average. I've gone 10 years without paying, another 15 and it'll get written off.

[klr]

I'm lucky.... the threshold for me was and always will be the national average. I've gone 10 years without paying, another 15 and it'll get written off.

And thankfully here in Ireland I got grant-aided - which I certainly needed. My attitude is that I've long since paid back my fees* in income tax and other taxes.

*Which, even inflation adjusted, were a pittance compared to what they are now, and where they're going.

[RuleBritannia]

What was that I just heard? Oh, it was another nail in the Lib Dems' coffin.

[klr]

What was that I just heard? Oh, it was another nail in the Lib Dems' coffin.

Oh yes, and that ... I was wondering who'd be the first to pick up on it.