Student Finance

Part of Bill Presented – in the House of Commons at 8:13 pm on 22 February 1995.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Mr Bryan Davies Mr Bryan Davies , Oldham Central and Royton 8:13, 22 February 1995

The hon. Gentleman is disregarding the record of the Conservative Government over 15 years. He should recognise that the Conservative party had been in power for almost a decade before it addressed the representations, which had been made right across the sector, of the necessity to increase opportunities for our young people. It then produced a short-term, five-year period of rapid expansion—I freely acknowledge that—not, I might add, bringing us up to the level of many of our competitors in advanced economies, but nevertheless creating a degree of expansion. Then we had the 1993 trauma of budgetary cuts, and instead of an education policy we saw an economic policy that caused a collapse of education provision.

The student loans scheme, in which we have been asked to place our confidence, is totally flawed and failing. It is universally derided. It fails on every criterion by which it should rightly be assessed. First, is the scheme fair or equitable? Loans are not available to part-time students, who must pay all their own fees and maintenance costs and make up 35 per cent. of the people in higher education.