Brian

[Brian @brianharrisonuk]

This article shows the difficulty of reporting on such a complex system. The interest cap does not affect those starting university this year as they are on plan 5. And the plan 2 threshold is not £29,900 and the plan 3 repayment rate is not 9%!

https://t.co/qFKTmQtNbH

[Brian @brianharrisonuk]

@timespolitics Link doesn't work

[Brian @brianharrisonuk]

@____gsamnoraa @carla_denyer 3 years not 5

[Brian @brianharrisonuk]

@Edeniiaan @paullewismoney I get slapped with high interest on my Plan 2 loan yet still have to pay 9% over the Plan 1 threshold as I also have a Plan 1 loan. So I'm hit both ways. Plan 2 has the lowest monthly repayments already.

[Brian @brianharrisonuk]

@Sjg3G @PensionsMonkey @CallumCMason An early batch of plan 1 loans have been sold. Plan 2 loans have not been sold.

[Brian @brianharrisonuk]

@CallumCMason @nickhillman He recommended the first freeze as the initial scheme was too expensive.

https://t.co/8MXQy4EeGf

[Brian @brianharrisonuk]

@paullewismoney Why the obsession with plan 2 repayments when that threshold is higher than for all other student loans that English students are repaying? £25,000 for plan 5 is a lot worse. £26,065 for plan 1. £21,000 for plan 3.

[Brian @brianharrisonuk]

@paullewismoney If you earn £4,000 above the threshold, it is like paying a £30 monthly phone contract every year.

All this 'mis-sold' stuff is overblown in my view. The plan 2 threshold was massively increased in 2018 from £21k to £25k. Freezes since have restored the level to pre-hike.

[Brian @brianharrisonuk]

@ValMThatcher @BellRibeiroAddy They did but they also increased it from £21k to £25k. The freeze on income tax/NIC thresholds is more unacceptable as that's not increased since 2021. Plan 2 repayment threshold is higher than plan 1, 3 and 5 and it increased in 2025 and 2026 so a 3 year freeze is reasonable.

[Brian @brianharrisonuk]

@ValMThatcher @BellRibeiroAddy It's not a breach of contractual terms then. It's a change from a previous government's policy (which is allowed by the contract).

[Brian @brianharrisonuk]

@nickhillman Not to mention the disproportionate effect trying to make a loan 'progressive' has on people who only have a small loan as they studied for e.g. 1 year. The interest rate effects these people on lower earnings too.

[Brian @brianharrisonuk]

@nickhillman My view is you shouldn't get too restricted by the pro/re-gressive thing.

It's about what's reasonable. We could say shops can charge a higher rate of VAT for people on higher earnings so that they pay a higher price for their weekly shop so that it can be cut for lower earners.

[Brian @brianharrisonuk]

@mbcorney Yes

[Brian @brianharrisonuk]

@timespolitics @patrickkmaguire The threshold already protects the low paid. It's those in the mid to high earnings brackets that are getting shafted by paying multiples of what they borrowed.

[Brian @brianharrisonuk]

@IGMansfield @nickhillman The victims of Plan 2 as it stands are those mid to high earners who are paying multiples of what they originally borrowed. Lower earners are already beneficiaries of Plan 2 as it stands. So the moral (and most affordable) thing to do is cut the interest rate.

[Brian @brianharrisonuk]

@mbcorney There is an impairment on the loan outlay and a bigger one for the courses that the Opposition want to include in the 100,000. So the saving is the removed spending on impairment on this loan outlay.

[Brian @brianharrisonuk]

@mbcorney @NeilDotObrien @KateOgdenEcon @nickhillman Yes the proposal is to reduce the interest rate going forward for all Plan 2 loans which includes all cohorts from 2012-2022.