Student debt

That this House expresses its concern at the excessive levels of student debt and loan repayment rates; notes that the average student leaves university with £50,000 worth of debt and is currently required to repay 9% on everything they earn over £27,295 a year; further notes that as of April 2024 the current rate of interest for student debt is 7.8%; recognises that many former students are accruing more in interest each year than they are repaying and that 51% of students who took out their loans before August 2023 will never repay their debts in full; believes that the current system of university financing based on tuition fees and high levels of student debt is economically unsustainable and reckless; further believes that higher education is a vital public good that benefits the whole of society and the burden for funding it should fall on the wealthiest; urges the Government to take immediate action to reduce the student debt burden; and calls on the Government to launch a review into the funding of higher education examining the possibility of abolishing tuition fees and funding higher education through wealth and income taxes.