Written question asked by Lord Grayling (Conservative) on Wednesday, 11 February 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 8 March 2004. It was answered by Alan Johnson (Labour) on Monday, 8 March 2004 on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills.

Dept for Education and Skills

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the Student Loan Company's latest estimate is of the likely future level of bad debt from income contingent student loans.

Answer: Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the Student Loan Company's latest estimate is of the likely future level of bad debt from income contingent student loans. [155454] Alan Johnson: There is no real concept of bad debt under the income-contingent loan repayment scheme. This is because repayments are in line with earnings, not in accordance with a credit agreement, and income- contingent loans repayments are collected through the tax system, apart from a few exceptions. Loans are written off only for policy reasons--due to death, becoming disabled and unfit for work, or at the age of 65--which are not considered as bad debt.

Secondary information