A powerful committee of MPs has launched a formal investigation into England’s student loan system, asking whether graduates have been treated fairly as debt levels soar and repayment conditions tighten. The Treasury Committee, chaired by Labour MP Dame Meg Hillier, is inviting submissions from anyone over 16 through an online survey, with evidence due by April 14.
The inquiry arrives at a moment of heightened political tension over higher education finance. Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ decision in last November’s budget to freeze the Plan 2 repayment threshold at £29,385 for three years from 2027 reignited fury among graduates and backbench Labour MPs alike, many of whom are now pushing for reform behind the scenes.
A System Under Scrutiny
Plan 2 loans, issued to English students who started undergraduate courses between 2012 and 2023, sit at the center of the controversy. According to the Student Loans Company, borrowers on Plan 2 carry an average balance of £43,645, compared with just £10,252 for those who studied under the earlier Plan 1 scheme. Around 5.4 million borrowers now owe a combined £235 billion under Plan 2 alone.
The high debt levels stem partly from tuition fees trebling to £9,000 in 2012, but interest charges compound the problem significantly. Plan 2 loans accrue interest at the Retail Prices Index rate of inflation plus up to 3%, meaning many graduates see their balances rise each year even while making regular monthly repayments. Oliver Gardner, founder of the Rethink Repayment campaign, has argued the arrangement “traps aspirational middle earners into a poorly designed graduate tax.”
Hillier framed the inquiry in stark terms. “This inquiry is about fairness,” she said. “Fundamentally, what we’re asking is: have the goalposts been moved in a way which is unfair to graduates?” The committee will examine whether repayment terms are reasonable when considered alongside broader graduate taxation, including income tax, a combination that critics say produces unusually high marginal rates for mid-range earners.
Political Pressure Builds
The investigation adds institutional weight to what has been a growing wave of criticism from across the political spectrum. Consumer champion Martin Lewis has argued that reducing interest rates would only benefit higher earners who can clear their loans within 30 years, and that raising repayment thresholds would do more to help lower and middle earners. The Conservatives, meanwhile, have pledged to cap Plan 2 interest at RPI only, though analysts note this would disproportionately advantage top earners.
According to the Good Growth Foundation, a Labour-aligned think tank, one potential fix would be raising the repayment threshold to £33,696, matching the median wage for workers aged 22 to 29, while cutting the repayment rate from 9% to 6%.
Reeves has acknowledged inheriting a “broken system” but urged caution, saying any changes must be “fully costed and fully funded” given competing demands from the NHS and defence. The Department for Education said existing freezes were designed to “protect taxpayers and students”, a framing that campaigners have flatly rejected.
The NUS president Amira Campbell called the inquiry “the clear result of sustained pressure from students and graduates,” adding that her organization stands ready to help fix the system.
