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Budget 2025: Impact on Graduates
16 December 2025
Lead MP
Jack Rankin
Windsor
Con
Responding Minister
Torsten Bell
Tags
NHSEducationEconomyTaxationHousing
Word Count: 3363
Other Contributors: 3
At a Glance
Jack Rankin raised concerns about budget 2025: impact on graduates in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.
Key Requests to Government:
The Government should address the financial burdens on graduates and consider reforms to improve job opportunities and housing conditions for young professionals.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Lead Contributor
The debate highlights the financial struggles faced by graduates due to increased student loan repayments, higher rent costs, and a tax freeze that pushes disposable income down. The Centre for Social Justice found that someone would need pre-tax earnings of £71,000 a year to match the disposable income of a family receiving benefits. A young person earning £40,000 a year in my constituency is left with less than £500 a month after expenses.
Alex Easton
Ind
North Down
Raises concerns about the potential for up to three quarters of higher education providers to be in deficit by 2025-26, with plans for course closures and staff cuts, urging the Government to act to secure a well-educated generation.
Jim Shannon
DUP
Strangford
Highlights that the plan 2 student loan repayment threshold was frozen until 2030, which means graduates begin repaying sooner and face more financial burden over their working lives.
Torsten Bell
Lab
Dorset South
Welcomes the focus on young people's wages, homes, and student finance. Mentions that Britain has outperformed growth forecasts with an upgrade from 1% to 1.5%. Discusses plans to tackle rental accommodation security through the Renters’ Rights Act and housing costs by building affordable and market-rate houses.
Government Response
Torsten Bell
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
Government Response
Welcomes the debate on young people's finances, focusing on wages, homes, and student finance. Discusses Britain's economic performance and growth in real wages since the current Government took office. Emphasises the importance of strong economy for creating graduate job opportunities. Mentions measures to improve business growth through tax breaks, support growth by cutting borrowing and inflation, lower interest rates for mortgage holders. Highlights efforts on housing security via Renters’ Rights Act 2025 and building affordable homes around the country. We have committed to tackling the high number of NEETs and expanding the use of talking therapies in the NHS, delivering an additional 384,000 courses of treatment by 2028-29. The Budget includes measures to reduce borrowing levels, freeze student loan repayments, and ensure a fairer system of university funding. We must maintain a sustainable student finance system that is fair to students and the taxpayer, ensuring no one sees their monthly repayments change unless their salary increases. The government will continue to review the system and focus on rising wages and living standards for young people.
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Assessment & feedback
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About Westminster Hall Debates
Westminster Hall debates are a chance for MPs to raise important issues affecting their constituents and get a response from a government minister. Unlike Prime Minister's Questions, these debates are more in-depth and collaborative. The MP who secured the debate speaks first, other MPs can contribute, and a minister responds with the government's position.