Committee publication · Correspondence · 19 May 2026

Letter from Student Loans Company on weekend maintenance loans, dated 12.05.26

Summary

The Student Loans Company responds to parliamentary questions about weekend-only maintenance loans, clarifying that regulations since 2011 treat weekend-only courses as distance learning, ineligible for maintenance support. SLC states higher education providers (HEPs) are responsible for correctly classifying courses; the issue emerged in early 2026 after the Secretary of State's December 2025 letter. SLC has stopped irregular payments, paused grant recovery until September 2026, and is implementing Department for Education instructions to recover overpayments through normal processes.

Key findings

Weekend-only courses have been classified as distance learning under the 2011 Regulations since their inception; SLC did not set policy but is bound to enforce it
The issue surfaced in early 2026 when HEPs contacted SLC following the Secretary of State's December 2025 letter reminding providers of course classification requirements
On 20 March 2026, DfE instructed SLC to stop irregular maintenance payments immediately and recover overpayments; this was revised on 20 April to defer recovery to normal repayment processes and pause grant recovery until at least September 2026
HEPs bear legal responsibility for correctly classifying courses on SLC's Course Management System; SLC has worked with DfE and the Office for Students to manage the situation
SLC has communicated with affected students twice, initially on payment suspension and again on revised recovery arrangements; HEPs are responsible for notifying students and providing hardship support

Tone

Procedural

Topics

student-financehigher-educationregulation-compliancepublic-finance

Key actors

Helen Hayes MP, Student Loans Company Limited, Department for Education, Higher Education Providers, Office for Students, Secretary of State for Education, Gary Page, UK Government

Notable line

“SLC is duty bound to enforce the Regulations and has no discretion to disapply any of the requirements within the Regulations.”

Key Quotes

“"In line with the existing Student Loans Company (SLC) requirements, I want to emphasise that eligibility for Maintenance Loan support depends on regular in person attendance.”
— Secretary of State for Education · December 2025 letter to Higher Education Providers on Post-16 White Paper

“SLC is duty bound to enforce the Regulations and has no discretion to disapply any of the requirements within the Regulations. To do otherwise would require SLC to act outside its delegated authority and act in an ultra vires manner.”
— Gary Page, Chair of Student Loans Company · explaining SLC's statutory obligations

“As noted in the DfE's letter to HEPs, the current position has arisen from HEP error on the basis that: • courses are added to the SLC's CMS by HEPs, and by using the CMS all HEPs agree that the courses meet the relevant student support regulations …”
— Gary Page, Chair of Student Loans Company · assigning responsibility for course misclassification

“The Regulations have long set out that attendance only at weekends counts as distance learning for student support purposes.”
— Gary Page, Chair of Student Loans Company · responding to questions about the duration of the regulation

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Source · parliament.uk record ↗