(2) how much interest was paid to banks by the Government in support of the student loans scheme in each year since its inception.
I have been asked to reply.
In 1998 the Government received £1 billion for the sale of student loans with a face value of £1.02 billion. In 1999 the Government received £1 billion for the sale of student loans with a face value of £1.03 billion. These are UK figures.
The following table shows the amount of interest subsidy paid to the debt sale owners in each year since 1998.
Financial year Subsidy (£000) 1998-99 54,000 1999-2000 90,890 2000-01 110,476 2001-02 88,986 2002-03 88,963 2003-04 42,751 2004-05 48,091 2005-06 36,895 Note: Figures are for England and Wales