More than half of student loans will never be paid back

Updated figures show proportion of loans to be paid by taxpayers has grown

More than half the total value of student loans taken out by full-time learners in 2019-20 is expected to be written off, the Department for Education has revealed.

Figures published by the DfE on 24 September show that 53 per cent of the loans taken out by full-time students in 2019-20 will be paid for by taxpayers, up from an estimated 47 per cent last year. The DfE forecasts that this figure will rise to 54 per cent in 2020-21.