Written Question·Department for Education·UIN 101938

Universities: Finance

Tabled: 2 January 2026
Answered: 29 January 2026
Named Day

Question

Ian Sollom

Liberal DemocratSt Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason her Department holds meetings with commercial lenders to discuss the finances of higher education institutions.

Answer

Josh MacAlister
The department meets regularly with a variety of stakeholders to hear their views on the English higher education sector. This includes commercial lenders, given that the sector’s external borrowing totalled £13.3 billion in 2023/24.