In April 2026, UCB Guild of Students had responded to the Treasury Select Committee’s call for evidence on the student loans system.

We made it clear that the current student finance system is not keeping pace with the real cost of living and is forcing students to take on unsustainable levels of debt. We supported the call for an overhaul of the system to minimise the cost burden on middle to lower graduate earners.

On Tuesday, 7th July, the Treasury Committee responded to the evidence. There were more than 52,000 responses, and 300 formal written evidence submissions. Below are a few key recommendations that have been set out;

• The government should return the split cost burden 50:50 between the individual and the state. In its current model, students could be paying as much as 95% of the cost of their higher education.
  
• To reverse the threshold freeze at the autumn budget, reversing the earlier policy of freezing thresholds, and alleviating the cost burden on lower to middle earners.

• Future promotional material of the loan system complies with the Consumer Duty Act, and it should be made clear to students that changes to terms can be made retrospectively.
  
• An annual statement that the loan system tells graduates roughly how much of their balance is likely to be written off.
  
• The committee is disappointed that the government has not abandoned RPI in favour of CPI to calculate student loan interest rates. RPI is an outdated model, and loan repayment interests are charged using RPI; graduates have to pay more.

Soham Chougale, Education Officer, Trustee of UCB Guild of Students’ Union, said

“It is really encouraging to see the Treasury Committee clearly recognize that the current student finance system is broken and to reflect many of the concerns that students’ unions , NUS and representative bodies have been raising for years. Recommendations such as restoring a fairer 50:50 cost split and reversing the repayment threshold freeze demonstrate the tangible impact of sustained student-led advocacy and signal a growing consensus for change.

However, this must be seen as a starting point rather than a complete solution. Key issues remain unaddressed, particularly around maintenance support, the rising cost of living, and the broader structural fairness of the system. Without tackling these alongside repayment reform, the system risks continuing to place disproportionate pressure on students, especially those from lower-income backgrounds and regions with weaker graduate earnings. With a new Labour government and clear momentum for change, there is now a real opportunity to take a more holistic approach and deliver a system that is not only fairer in principle but genuinely works in practice for all students who are the future of the growing British economy”

UCB Guild of students has responded to the government’s technical consultation on proposals to introduce a levy on international students.

Representing over 3,000 international students, we have raised serious concerns about the impact the levy will have on our international students.

Under the current proposals, English Universities would be charged £925 per international student, with the first 220 students exempt from the Levy. Whilst the government places this cost on Universities, we believe it is inevitable that the burden will fall on international students. This not only increases the costs for international students, but can undermine the attractiveness of the English higher education system

We believe that the model used to calculate the costs and impact of the levy is flawed and that the impact is a lot severe than the initial government estimates. This would cause financial strain to universities and would have an immediate impact on the teaching and learning environment for students.

Soham Chougale, Education Officer, Trustee of UCB Guild of Students’ Union, said:

“International students are not a revenue stream to be tapped; they are partners in our campuses and communities, and any levy that treats them as cash cows undermines the very values UK education claims to champion”