How many prospective students in Wales does the Cabinet Secretary expect to be deterred from postgraduate study due to the inability of Welsh-domiciled students to access financial support through the Student Loans Company?
In May 2016 the Welsh Government consulted on proposals to implement a postgraduate loan scheme for Welsh students which will largely mirror that for England. Plans are now in hand to ensure that such support will be available to Welsh students from September 2017.
Unfortunately it was not possible to implement a scheme in Wales any earlier. The reasons why this was not possible are complex and largely to do with the timing of key policy announcements by the Westminster Government and capacity within the Student Loans Company. My officials have worked closely with the SLC to ensure that capacity is not a barrier to providing support in future years.
It is not possible to provide an accurate estimate of the number of students who will be impacted by the delay in providing support.