Committee publication · Correspondence · 2 June 2026
Letter from Secretary of State on weekend maintenance loans, dated 27.05.26
From: Education Committee
Summary
Secretary of State Bridget Phillipson responds to the Education Committee's April 2026 inquiry into weekend-only maintenance loans. The letter defends the Department's decision to stop payments to students enrolled on weekend-only courses (classified as distance learning under 2011 Regulations), which affected students had received in good faith. It outlines corrective actions: maintenance loan overpayments will be recovered via the normal income-contingent repayment system; targeted grant recovery is paused until September 2026 pending review. The Department emphasizes legal obligation to protect public funds while acknowledging student hardship and provider confusion.
Key findings
- Weekend-only courses are classified as distance learning under the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011 and ineligible for maintenance loans, except for disabled students unable to attend in-person courses.
- Providers began reporting course misclassifications to the Student Loans Company in winter/spring 2026; the Department issued a December 2025 letter clarifying the rule, then took corrective action in March 2026.
- Maintenance loan overpayments will be recovered through the standard Income Contingent Repayment system (no accelerated recovery); recovery of targeted grants (Parents' Learning Allowance, Adult Dependent Grant, Childcare Grant) is paused until at least September 2026.
- The Department met with Universities UK, Mission Group providers, IHE, and the NUS before implementing decisions; the Office for Students is investigating regulatory breaches and potential mis-selling.
- The Department is reviewing regulatory oversight and guidance; many affected courses are delivered via franchise arrangements, an area where governance is being tightened through new registration requirements for large franchise providers.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Bridget Phillipson, Helen Hayes, Student Loans Company, Office for Students, Department for Education, Universities UK, National Union of Students
Notable line
“As the Secretary of State, I have a statutory responsibility to safeguard public money and to ensure that student support is paid only where the eligibility conditions set out in legislation are met.”
Key Quotes
“As the Secretary of State, I have a statutory responsibility to safeguard public money and to ensure that student support is paid only where the eligibility conditions set out in legislation are met.”
“Courses which require attendance only at weekends are classified as distance learning for the purposes of the regulations …”
“I am acutely aware of the impact that these errors have had on affected students, particularly where support was accessed in good faith on the basis of information available at the point of enrolment.”
“The collection of overpayments will commence the April following conclusion of 3 What to do if you're in financial hardship - GOV.UK studies and be subject to the relevant repayment threshold, with repayments made as part of regular student loan repayments, within a single balance …”
“It is notable that the majority of the provision affected by this issue is delivered under franchise arrangements.”
“The statutory definition of distance learning in the regulations makes clear that attendance solely on a weekend does not count as being "in attendance" …”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗