Official Statistics

Advanced Learner Loans paid in England: academic year 2021/22 - August to January inclusive

Published 24 March 2022

Applies to England

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/advanced-learner-loans-paid-in-england-ay-202122-aug-to-jan/advanced-learner-loans-paid-in-england-academic-year-202122-august-to-january-inclusive

Introduction

This statistics publication presents figures on the Advanced Learner Loans (formerly 24+ Advanced Learning Loans) paid to further education providers on behalf of further education learners. It covers the payments made in the first half of the academic year 2021/22, August 2021 to January 2022 inclusive and also includes the figures for the equivalent period in academic years 2019/20 and 2020/21 for comparison.

Key points

Within the accompanying excel file, you will find:

  • Table 1 - Advanced Learning Loans paid in August to January for academic years 2019/20 to 2021/22.
  • Table 2 - Advanced Learning Loans for the full year (August to July) for academic years 2019/20 to 2020/21.

Quarter 2: August 2021 to January 2022 as at 31/01/2022 - All cohorts

Domicile of learner Period Number of learners (000’s) Amount paid (£m) Average amount paid (£)
UK 2021/22 47.5 68.5 1,440
EU (outside UK) 2021/22 1.9 2.6 1,410
Total 2021/22 49.4 71.1 1,440

All cohorts

The number of learners with Advanced Learner Loans paid to their further education learning provider in the period August 2021 to January 2022 inclusive was 49,400.

The amount paid in the period was £71.1 million and the average amount paid per learner was £1,440.

47,500 (96%) of the learners in academic year 2021/22 are UK domiciled and 1,900 (4%) are EU (non-UK) domiciled.

2021/22 cohort

Of the £71.1m paid out in August 2021 to January 2022, £51.2 million was paid on behalf of 33,700 learners starting courses in the 2021/22 academic year.

For comparison:

  • £63.2 million was paid in August 2020 to January 2021 on behalf of 42,300 learners starting courses in the 2020/21 academic year.
  • £67.7 million was paid in August 2019 to January 2020 on behalf of 46,100 learners starting courses in the 2019/20 academic year.

Notes for users

Further education learners may qualify for an Advanced Learner Loan. These loans help learners to pay the fees charged by colleges and training organisations. Household income isn’t taken into account and there is no credit check. Eligibility to repay only begins from the April following finishing (or exiting) the course. The income threshold for which learners would be in scope to repay is currently earnings over £27,295 a year, increased from £26,575 for academic year 2020/21.

To qualify learners must be:

  • studying with a college or training organisation in England approved for public funding
  • enrolling on an eligible course which includes A levels, Access to HE Diplomas and other diplomas and certificates. These loans do not cover degrees or other forms of higher education (HE)
  • aged 19 or over on the first day of their course (there is no upper age limit)
  • usually living in the UK on the first day of their course and have lived in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for three years immediately before this starting their course
  • be a UK national or have ‘settled status’ (this means there’s no restrictions on how long they can stay). More can be found on GOV.UK.

The learners who are eligible as EU nationals are shown separately in this publication as EU (non-UK) domiciled. The remainder are shown as UK domiciled.

The amount learners can receive depends on their course, the fees charged by the college or training organisation and maximum amounts set by the Government. Student Finance England will assess a learner for the lower of the fee charged or the maximum funding rate. The minimum loan amount is £300. Learners can take out a loan for the maximum amount to cover their fee or they can pay all or part of the fee themselves. The fee for the course is set by the college or training organisation.

Student Finance England will pay the loan to the college or training organisation once they have confirmed attendance on the course. Attendance is confirmed initially two weeks after learners commence their course and on a quarterly basis thereafter. Payments are made monthly until the learner completes or exits their course. Liability incurs on a monthly basis, therefore if a learner leaves their course, they are no longer liable for future loan payments.

In the case of AS and A-levels, a learner can make loan applications to undertake up to four full A-levels. A full A-level can be studied by a learner enrolling on an A-level learning aim or enrolling on an AS learning aim and then progressing to an A-level learning aim. Where a learner intends to study towards only an A-level exam they can apply for up to four loans for four A-level learning aims. These applications can be made one at a time or one after the other. Where a learner intends to study towards an AS level exam, not followed by an A-level they can apply for up to four loans for four AS learning aims. Where a learner undertakes up to four AS level learning aims and then decides to progress to up to four full A levels, they can apply for up to four loans for the four AS levels and up to four loans for the corresponding A levels.

If learners are undertaking an Access to HE Diploma and then go on to complete an HE course, the outstanding balance of their Advanced Learner Loan will be written off. To qualify for this write off they must have fully completed both courses. Learners do not need to take out a loan for the HE course. However, the course must be eligible for funding by Student Finance England. The HE course does not have to relate to the Access to HE course that the learners complete.

Policy changes

With effect from 2016/17, 24+ Advanced Learning Loans were renamed Advanced Learner Loans. This reflected the expansion of the scheme criteria to include both learners aged 19-23 on the first day of their course and Level 5-6 courses. The extension to those aged 19-23 does not impact on the legal entitlement to a fully funded first Level 3. Speak to your college or training organisation about any entitlement you may have.

All references in this publication series to 24+ Advanced Learning Loans have been amended to reflect this change.

DfE publishes a statistical series for learner participation and achievements in further education. Data for the full 2020/21 academic year was published on 25 November 2021. The November release also includes data on loan applications received (including those not yet processed) sourced from the SLC application database, and on the number of learners participating with an Advanced Learner Loan, reported through the Individualised Learner Record (ILR).

The Advanced Learner Loans Paid data published by SLC shows payments made by SLC, whilst the ILR captures learners on a course with an Advanced Learner Loan that started during this period including some where the first scheduled payment date is beyond the payment period.

SLC publishes an annual statistical series for Student Loans Debt and Repayment for England. This series includes Advanced Learner Loans as well as the pre-existing higher education student loans. It provides statistics on what happens to the debt after payment (addition of interest, repayments, cancellations etc.).

Contact details

SLC OSP01/2022

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