52,000 responses flood Treasury inquiry as UK graduates revolt against student loans
Key Points
- Treasury Committee received more than 52,000 responses to its student loans and graduate taxation inquiry, one of the highest response rates ever recorded for a select committee inquiry
- 40,373 of 49,357 loan-holding respondents said the combined burden of repayments and tax was worse than expected
- 45,843 said the level of interest and repayment terms on their loan were not reasonable
- 25,291 respondents said they would not take out the loan again if given the choice today
- First evidence session on Tuesday 2 June 2026, featuring Universities UK, the NUS, Rethink Repayment and Sir Philip Augar
The Treasury Committee has received more than 52,000 responses to its inquiry into student loans and the taxation of graduates, with the vast majority of respondents telling MPs the system has left them financially worse off than they expected.
Of the 49,357 respondents who currently hold a student loan, 40,373 said the combined financial impact of repayments and tax has been worse than they expected, and 45,843 said the level of interest and repayment terms were not reasonable.
34,555 reported that their repayments had a material impact on their financial planning for the future, while 28,275 said they did not understand the terms and conditions of their loan before taking it out. 25,291 said they would not take out the loan again if given the choice today.
The findings show high dependence on the loan system despite the level of dissatisfaction.
45,066 respondents said they would not have been able to attend higher education without a student loan, and around 60% of submissions came from graduates who had only ever held a Plan 2 loan.
A further 28% held multiple loans, reflecting the layered repayment burden carried by graduates who studied across more than one fee regime.
“Let me say very clearly to those who filled out our survey: the message has landed with the Committee,” said Dame Meg Hillier, Chair of the Treasury Committee.
“Unfortunately, what these findings tell us is that far too many young people feel over-burdened and demoralised by their student debt,” she said.
Hillier said the Committee would now examine the options available to the Government before recommending changes in the coming weeks.
The Committee will hold its first evidence session on Tuesday (2 June), with representatives from Universities UK, the National Union of Students and Rethink Repayment scheduled to appear alongside Sir Philip Augar, who authored the 2019 review into post-18 education and funding.
The Committee has also published a compilation of student loan promotional materials supplied by the Department for Education, which it will use to assess how the loans were explained to prospective students.
Respondents to the survey were a self-selecting group and the results should not be read as a representative sample of the wider graduate population.
