Student Debt At Record Levels

11.21.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 29th Sep 2008

Figures revealed by the Liberal Democrats show that the total debt held by UK students has increased by £4billion and now totals £22 billion.

Simon Wright, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesman for Norwich South, was at the University of East Anglia (UEA) last week, talking to new students about their financial concerns:

"Many students are now leaving university with debts of up to £40,000. The size of debts and the burden of repayments will have a real influence over the choices made by many graduates after they've left university. More and more young people are now failing to save for pensions, and student debts is one of the main reasons for this. Getting on the housing ladder is nothing more than a dream for most graduates, many of whom are paying nearly half of their income in tax."

"Students starting university this week in Norwich are well aware that they have financial challenges ahead, but many will find that their level of debt at the end of their studies is far higher than they expect."

"The Government needs to radically reassess its higher education funding policies, with a view to abolishing the tuition fees system."