Written Question · S3W-06353 · Session 3
How much it would cost to write off student debt in one year.
The question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it would cost to write off student debt in one year.
The answer
The ScottishGovernment's policy proposal was to meet student loan repayments and notwrite-off in one amount the accumulated student loan debt. We are continuing toexplore options for servicing the debt and we are planning to seek views ofstakeholders on measures to tackle graduate debt through a consultation nextyear.
The overall levelof Scottish student loan debt from Scottish borrowers as at
31 March 2007 was £1.95 billion. This figure is made upof debt held by the Scottish Government and of sold debt held by private sectorinstitutions.
We estimate thecurrent cost to completely write-off this debt in one year would beapproximately £1.5 billion as the provisions for the interest subsidy, complete
write-off provision and debt sale subsidy would be applied to reduce the totaldebt outstanding. These figures will continue to grow as more loans areadvanced.
The overall levelof Scottish student loan debt from Scottish borrowers as at
31 March 2007 was £1.95 billion. This figure is made upof debt held by the Scottish Government and of sold debt held by private sectorinstitutions.
We estimate thecurrent cost to completely write-off this debt in one year would beapproximately £1.5 billion as the provisions for the interest subsidy, complete
write-off provision and debt sale subsidy would be applied to reduce the totaldebt outstanding. These figures will continue to grow as more loans areadvanced.
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S3W-06353 by reference.