Student loans conference announcements

You may have seen in the news the Prime Minister announced a fairer deal for students and young people. We are going to freeze the maximum rate of tuition fees and increase the amount graduates can earn before they start paying back their fees from £21,000 to £25,000 – saving young graduates £360 next year, meaning more money in their pocket. This means, anyone earning less than £25,000 after they graduate will not have to make any loan repayments until they hit that level of earnings.

 

Whilst this announcement is great news for the country, and young people in particular, we already have cause to be optimistic about the achievements we have made so far. There are more people going to university than ever before – including more young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Disadvantaged 18 year olds in England are around 73 per cent more likely to enter university now than they were in 2006. If tuition fees were scrapped, as Corbyn proposes, this progress would be reversed. A cap on the number of places available to applicants would see disadvantaged people barred from improving their own life chances and restrict funding.

 

Even if you decide not to go to university, the Government has put measures in place to ensure you have the opportunity to do well. The Conservatives have delivered 3 million apprenticeships, giving more young people the opportunity to earn and learn at the same time. All of this has helped us make substantial reductions to the youth unemployment rate across the country. Youth unemployment is down by 410,000 from its height of 939,000 in February to April 2010.

 

These announcements are about making our country a fairer place to live and work – particularly for those who are just starting out in life – and building a better future for our country and our city.