A proposal for the Armed Forces to repay some or all of the student loans held by new recruits “may have merits”, but would require detailed work on cost, eligibility and the effect on existing support schemes before it could be introduced, according to the Government.
The issue was raised in a written parliamentary question from Conservative peer Lord Patten, who asked whether the Government intended to pay off all or part of the outstanding student loans of people recruited into the Armed Forces.
Defence Minister Lord Coaker said: “Whilst this concept may have merits, the Armed Forces already provide significant opportunities for individuals to join and develop personally and professionally without the need to pay off student loans on entry.”
He said many routes into military service do not require degree-level qualifications, while existing schemes allow personnel to gain qualifications and professional skills during their careers. Any scheme to repay student debt on recruitment would require analysis of how many personnel held student loans, the overall cost, the administrative burden and the potential effect on existing education and training support.
Coaker said: “Introducing a policy to repay student loans on entry would require extensive analysis to assess the financial implications, including the number of personnel with student loans, the overall cost of implementation, the administrative resources required, and any impact on existing support schemes that reflect the Armed Forces’ long-standing commitment to investing in their people.”
The Armed Forces already operate a range of bursary schemes for people undertaking degree-level study who agree to join after completing their education. Those arrangements vary between the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force according to service requirements, with support ranging from payment of tuition fees to contributions towards living costs.
Most are aimed at future officers, although Coaker pointed to the Army Musicians and Royal Navy Submarine Undergraduate Apprenticeship schemes as exceptions. Personnel already serving can also access educational and professional development through Enhanced Learning Credits, the Publicly Funded Further and Higher Education Scheme, apprenticeships and funded postgraduate study.
Coaker said service personnel can also gain formal qualifications and accreditation for skills acquired during their military careers. The Government is separately widening routes into service through programmes including Zig Zag Careers, the Defence Direct-Entry Cyber pathway and the Armed Forces Foundation Year Scheme.
Coaker said those initiatives were intended to give Defence alternative ways of attracting people with the skills it needs while allowing recruits to develop qualifications and experience during their service.
We have armed forces that are now full and turning way thousands of recruits. There is no need to spend money on such a programme.
Surely being more selective is a good thing?
This sort of financial benefit costs next to nothing but would make the Armed Forces massively attractive as it essentially amounts to a £30k bonus on joining.
The only caveat I would place it not to make it an upon entry payoff, but set it up so they don’t have to make the normal payments for the years they have in service and maybe for every year in service so much is cleared off or just wipe it upon completion of their contracted service length.
The British Army is not like the US army, contracted service length is 22 years. You don’t re-up your contract when it expires, you instead terminate your contract when your willing to leave. So your suggestion would require a rather major rework of how soldiers are employed.