Public Accounts Committee exposes £80 billion black hole in student finance budget

Press Release from Liam Byrne MP - PAC Report on £80 billion black hole in Student Finance BudgetResponding to a Public Accounts Committee report on student loan repayments, Shadow Minister for Universities, Science and Skills Liam Byrne MP said:

“The Public Accounts Committee has today exposed an astonishing £80 billion black hole in the student finance budget. It is now crystal clear that the system ministers have put in place is unsustainable and is going bust. “Across our universities, vice-chancellors and students alike are rightly concerned that the government’s student finance system is bust and unfit for the future. So that we can to earn our way out of the cost-of-living crisis with more better-paid, high-skilled jobs we need more opportunities for young people to develop their skills, but to pay for their failure the government is hitting funding for increased access. "But it’s now clear universities are sitting on flimsy foundations. We now need urgent answers from the government for how they're going to fix this £80 billion pound mess which our country cannot afford. Ministers have serious questions to answer.”

ENDS

Office of Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP 020 7219 6953

Notes:

Please find below the Committees full report: PAC Report - Student Loans - Feb 2014