Student debt could cost £100bn

sible cost of wiping student debt, Ms Rayner said: “It is a huge amount, it is £100bn, which they estimate at the moment, which will increase. It’s a huge amount of money but we also know a third of that is never repaid.” She added: “I like a challenge...but we’ve got to start dealing with this debt crisis that we’re foisting on our young people.

“They are leaving university with £57,000 worth of debt, it’s completely unsustainable and we’ve got to start tackling that.”

According to the Student Loan Company, outstanding debt on student loans had increased by more than 16 per cent to £100.5bn at the end of March. Only about a third of the students who have taken out £9,000-a-year loans are expected to pay them back fully. This means the government will have to pay some of the bill. 0 Angela Rayner: student debt crisis must be tackled