The Income Contingent Repayment Student Loan Monetisation Programme, which will run for the period of 2022-23, aims to raise £15bn for the Exchequer. The value of the financial communication services contract is subject to a procurement exercise but will not exceed £115,000 for the term of the contract. The financial communication services are being tendered on a demand-led basis, meaning that the government has no obligation to use the contract or incur any expense.

The department calculates the book value for the pool of loans for any given sale after the sale has completed, and the fully audited number for the second sale will be available in the 2018-2019 annual accounts.

Disclosing the minimum value is considered commercially sensitive and would put achieving the best value for money for future sales at risk.

The approach to Sale 1, including the tests the department used to assess value for money, was reviewed by the National Audit Office, which concluded that in terms of preparation, process and proceeds, the government achieved value for money.

Following HM Treasury Green Book principles, the department used a range of measures to assess that the sale offered value for money, as set out in the report that was placed in the Libraries of both Houses on 7 December 2017.

It is a requirement of Section 4 of the Sale of Student Loans Act (2008), that the Secretary of State lay a report before Parliament about arrangements following a sale, including the extent to which the arrangements give good value, within three months of a sale. For Sale 1, this report was placed in the Libraries of both Houses on 7 December 2017.

Disclosing the HM Treasury Green Book valuation of the student loans to be sold in the second sale of the pre-2012 English student loan book, would be commercially disadvantageous to the government, and would jeopardise the government’s ability to maximise proceeds in this sale and any future sales.

The government only sells assets where it is value for money to do so and where there is no policy reason to continue to own them. The government will proceed with the sale announced on 10 October 2018 – or any future sale from the pre-2012 loan book – only if market conditions remain favourable and if the final value for money assessment is positive.

Pursuant to Section 4 of the Sale of Student Loans Act (2008), the government will report to Parliament on the sale arrangements, and the extent to which they gave good value, within three months of the date of the transfer arrangements. A copy of that report will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Pursuant to Section 4 of the Sale of Student Loans Act 2008, the government will report to Parliament on the sale arrangements and extent to which they gave good value within three months of the date of the transfer arrangements. A copy of that report will be placed in the House libraries.

The government will proceed with the sale announced on 10 October 2018 only if market conditions remain favourable and if the final value for money assessment is positive.

The government only sells assets where it is value for money to do so and where there is no policy reason to continue to own them. The government’s objective when issuing loans to students is to allow them to pursue their education regardless of their personal financial situation. Once this objective has been met, retaining the loans on the government’s balance sheet serves no further policy purpose.

The face value of the tranche of the pre-2012 English student loan book sold in December 2017 was £3.5 billion. The sale raised £1.7 billion in aggregate proceeds – exceeding the HM Treasury Green Book valuation of the loans.

The face value of the student loans in scope for the sale announced by Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS979) on 10 October 2018 is £3.9 billion. The government will proceed with this sale or any future sale from the pre-2012 loan book - only if market conditions remain favourable and if the final value for money assessment is positive.

The government will produce a revised estimate of the proportion of plan one student loans held by the government that will not be repaid, taking into account the sale of part of the plan one loan book that was completed in December 2017. These are due to be published in the Department for Education’s 2017-18 annual report and accounts in summer 2018.

The Government has frozen tuition fees for academic year 2018/19 and for financial year 2018-19 has raised both the repayment threshold and the thresholds at which variable interest rates apply to borrowers in repayment.

The repayment threshold will rise from £21,000 to £25,000 for the 2018-19 financial year (from 6 April 2018). Following the threshold change, interest will be charged at RPI for those earning below £25,000 (compared to £21,000 before) and at RPI+3% for those earning above £45,000 (compared to £41,000 before), with interest applied on a sliding scale for those earning between those two thresholds.

The long-term cost of the student loan system is reflected in the Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) Charge, which measures the proportion of loan outlay that we expect not to be repaid when future repayments are valued in present terms. In each of the financial years (a) 2017-18, (b) 2018-19 and (c) 2019-20, the RAB charge for higher education loans is expected to change from around 30% under the previous policy to between 40% and 45% under the new policy.

The allocated budget for RAB expenditure forms part of the total resource departmental expenditure limit. It is disclosed within the depreciation figure set out within the annual report and accounts. In the 2016-17 annual report and accounts, this was forecast to be £3.5bn for 2017-18, £3.9bn for 2018-19 and £4.3bn in 2019-20. As in prior years, the 2017-18 budget and future budgets will be reviewed as part of the annual Estimates process and confirmed in the published Estimates documents.

The cost of the system is a conscious investment in young people. It is the policy subsidy required to make higher and further education widely available, achieving the Government’s objectives of increasing the skills in the economy and ensuring access to university for all with the potential to benefit.

The Government has frozen tuition fees for academic year 2018/19 and for financial year 2018-19 has raised both the repayment threshold and the thresholds at which variable interest rates apply to borrowers in repayment.

The repayment threshold will rise from £21,000 to £25,000 for the 2018-19 financial year (from 6 April 2018). Following the threshold change, interest will be charged at RPI for those earning below £25,000 (compared to £21,000 before) and at RPI+3% for those earning above £45,000 (compared to £41,000 before), with interest applied on a sliding scale for those earning between those two thresholds.

The long-term cost of the student loan system is reflected in the Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) Charge, which measures the proportion of loan outlay that we expect not to be repaid when future repayments are valued in present terms. In each of the financial years (a) 2017-18, (b) 2018-19 and (c) 2019-20, the RAB charge for higher education loans is expected to change from around 30% under the previous policy to between 40% and 45% under the new policy.

The allocated budget for RAB expenditure forms part of the total resource departmental expenditure limit. It is disclosed within the depreciation figure set out within the annual report and accounts. In the 2016-17 annual report and accounts, this was forecast to be £3.5bn for 2017-18, £3.9bn for 2018-19 and £4.3bn in 2019-20. As in prior years, the 2017-18 budget and future budgets will be reviewed as part of the annual Estimates process and confirmed in the published Estimates documents.

The cost of the system is a conscious investment in young people. It is the policy subsidy required to make higher and further education widely available, achieving the Government’s objectives of increasing the skills in the economy and ensuring access to university for all with the potential to benefit.

The long-term cost of the student loan system is reflected in the Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) charge, which measures the proportion of loan outlay that we expect not to be repaid when future repayments are valued in present terms. In each of the financial years (a) 2017-18, (b) 2018-19 and (c) 2019-20, the RAB charge for higher education loans is expected to change from around 30% under the previous policy to between 40% and 45% under the new policy. For Advanced Learner Loans, the RAB charge is expected to change from around 40% to between 50% and 55%.

The allocated budget for RAB expenditure forms part of the total resource departmental expenditure limit. It is disclosed within the depreciation figure set out within the annual report and accounts. In 2016-17 annual report and accounts, this was £3.5bn for 2017-18, £3.9bn for 2018-19 and £4.3bn in 2019-20. As in prior years, the 2017-18 budget will be reviewed as part of the Supplementary Estimates process.

The cost of the system is a conscious investment in young people. It is the policy subsidy required to make higher and further education widely available, achieving the Government’s objectives of increasing the skills in the economy and ensuring access to university for all with the potential to benefit.

The long-term cost of the student loan system is reflected in the Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) charge. This measures the proportion of loan outlay that we expect not to be repaid within its thirty-year term (when future repayments are valued in present terms).

The RAB charge associated with higher education loans issued in each of the financial years (a) 2017-18, (b) 2018-19 and (c) 2019-20, is expected to change from around 30% under the previous policy to between 40% and 45% under the new policy.

This long-term cost of the system is a conscious investment in young people. It is the policy subsidy required to make higher education widely available and so achieve the Government’s objectives of increasing the skills in the economy and ensuring access to university for all with the potential to benefit.