Student Loan Fraud.

[Pierre]

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

Employers pay an apprentice levy across all their workforce to fund apprenticeships. Should this levy be cancelled and apprentices be made to take out student loans to make this fairer?

Businesses fund the levy through tax they pay, that they can then reclaim to fund the apprentice.

Back in the day, a business would just take on an apprentice and train him up. Either way, it's still Business that funds it, not the individual tax payer.

You don't link to evidence showing the current system is unsustainable, so that point has not been proved.

Currently £226 Billion increasing over 10% a year.........I think the point is clear.

[jfman]

“Student debt” is always going to go up - there’s more students able to borrow more each year. Comparing the total figure year on year is pointless. The commercial interest rate plays a part in artificially increasing the number - the state itself doesn’t pay this rate. The more important question is how much of that outstanding today is realistically going to be repaid and whether funding the university sector is worth the difference.

Forecasts (yes, guesswork) put the number of students repaying in full at 65% for those starting in 23/24, up from 27% for the 22/23 cohort due to a rule change.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by Pierre

Businesses fund the levy through tax they pay, that they can then reclaim to fund the apprentice.

Back in the day, a business would just take on an apprentice and train him up. Either way, it's still Business that funds it, not the individual tax payer.

Whilst business funds 90% of the apprenticeship costs, the government adds a 10% top-up which is funded by individual tax payers.

[Pierre]

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

Whilst business funds 90% of the apprenticeship costs, the government adds a 10% top-up which is funded by individual tax payers.

Which apprentices are.

The nation gets what it is prepared to pay for..and going by present attitudes we are in danger of going backwards and ending up with a higher number of poorly educated and poorly trained younger citizens.