Juliet Campbell

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Ilford South (Jas Athwal) for securing this debate. The University of Nottingham is on my doorstep, so many graduates who make their home in Beeston and Bramcote in my constituency. One of my constituents said: “My salary is never going to go up at the same rate as the interest, you have to pay back huge amounts every month to match the interest being charged.” Another said that they took out a loan of £37,000 and yet, “since graduating 8 years ago, I have paid back just £600 and accrued £18,000 in interest. Because until a year ago, my salary did not meet the repayment threshold. This means that I currently owe £55,000. Bearing in mind, I have been working the whole time since graduating.” She said to me, “It is ludicrous,” and I agree. Students should never end up in a position where their monthly repayments are significantly less than the interest they accrue. The inequalities in the system are stark. Borrowers only repay student loans while they are earning, but the interest will accrue nevertheless. That puts an unfair penalty on those who work part time, take breaks for maternity or are carers. The message from my constituents in Broxtowe is loud and clear: “This simply isn’t fair.” I call upon the Government to make urgent reforms.