Scottish Government considers impact of student debt pledge

The Scottish Government has vowed to “consider carefully” what impact Theresa May’s proposal to raise the repayment threshold for student loans will have on graduates north of the border.

Ministers made the commitment after Mrs May used the opening day of the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester to announce that the amount people can earn before making student loan repayments will rise from £21,000 to £25,000.

Scottish Labour voiced fears that the move could leave Scottish graduates, who start repaying loans when they earn £17,775 a year, worse off than their counterparts in England.

Education spokesman Iain Gray said: “The SNP Government should ensure the threshold is lifted in the next budget.

“Every year that goes by without this happening is another year that sees graduates miss out.

“This is even more urgent now given Theresa May’s U-turn.

“This would be an important step in delivering a better deal for young graduates and SNP ministers should not drag their heels in delivering it.”

Mrs May also pledged tuition fees in England will be frozen at the current £9,250 level until 2019, rather than increase with inflation by £250.

But this was derided by Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who said on Twitter: “A freeze in already exorbitant tuition fees is hardly a revolution.

“Why not follow @thesnp @Scotgov and abolish tuition fees?”

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Free university tuition forms the core of our offer to students and we are absolutely committed to maintaining the policy.

“It means that over 120,000 undergraduates studying in Scotland each year do not incur debts of up to £27,000 to pay for university education, unlike their peers elsewhere in the UK.

“While we welcome the acknowledgement today from the UK Government through their proposal to freeze tuition fees, that their policy is not working, it is disappointing that they are not following our lead and abolishing them altogether.”

She added: “We will carefully consider the implications of their proposals for students studying at Scottish institutions, but it is important to do so within the context of student support that already exists here.”