Paul Bolton

Student loans are the main method of direct government support for higher education students. More than £17 billion is loaned to students each year. The value of outstanding loans at the end of March 20 reached £140 billion. The Government forecasts the value of outstanding loans to be around £560 billion (2019‑20 prices) by the middle of this century. The expansion of loans has raised questions about graduate repayments and ultimately the cost of the system to the taxpayer

In the UK, higher education (HE) is a devolved matter and each nation has its own finance arrangements and student funding system. This paper outlines the student support systems for undergraduate higher education students in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It sets out the amount of funding that students may receive and references recent debates and developments in HE funding across the UK.

This Commons Library briefing paper discusses the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities and provides related statistical and policy analysis.

This House of Commons library paper gives an overview of the first sale of a tranche of English income-contingent student loans. It gives background to the sale and discusses the impact of the sale on borrowers and whether value for money was achieved by the sale. The Government announced the end of the sales programme in Budget 2020.

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic there have been concerns about the financial impact on universities. Much of this has focussed on the potential loss of international students, but there could also be losses in income from lower home student numbers, a drop in research work and less revenue from accommodation, catering and conferencing. What are the size of these impacts and what has the Government done to support the sector?

This House of Commons briefing discusses the problems with the awarding of A level grades in the summer 2020 following the cancellation of exams due to the coronavirus pandemic and outlines the knock on effect of this on university admission for 2020-21.

This House of Commons briefing paper discusses the impact of easing lockdown restriction on the FE and HE sectors in England. The paper outlines issues such as: re-opening campuses, prospective students numbers in 2020/21, temporary students numbers controls, delivery of courses in 2020/21 and the Higher Education Restructuring Regime. It also highlights issues such as the impact on graduate employability and catch up funding for FE colleges.

This guide and sets a series of principles to follow to help produce good statistical charts. As used by the statistics sections of the House of Commons Library

This guide sets out a the basic principles of a good statistical table.

How have student maintenance support levels changed over time? How has the balance between grants and loans changed? What did theending of grants mean to this and to potential students? What support are students eligible for this and next academic year, is it enough and how much are their parents meant to contribute?

This page summarises the Commons Library publications on energy policy. The overview briefing paper provides background on energy in the UK, the basis for energy policy, and a timeline of significant developments in energy policy.

This House of Commons briefing paper answers some frequently asked questions about international and EU students in the UK. It sets out statistics in this area and outlines policy issues including the potential impact of Brexit and the net migration target on international and EU student recruitment.

This Commons Library briefing paper summarises current progress on nuclear power, including conventional reactors, advanced designs, waste disposal, and nuclear research.