It’s finally here.
More than a year since it opened for responses, and just over a week since MPs on all sides called for it during Second Reading, we have the consultation response from the government on the lifelong loan entitlement (LLE).
This Johnson-era prime ministerial commitment, drawing on work kicked off under Theresa May (a review of post-18 fees and funding including a report from Philip Augar), represents the biggest shake up of post-compulsory funding since 2012.
The policy is simple at heart – four years of higher education fee loan eligibility can be used on multiple shorter courses throughout your working lifetime across higher and further education, rather than just on a traditional three year undergraduate degree. It does prompt a huge number of technical and implementational questions, and although we don’t get many of the detailed answers this morning the parameters of the offer are clearer.
Alongside the full consultation response published this morning, there is also an impact assessment (at a very high level), an equalities analysis, and a written ministerial statement.
