18 July 2018 
Matt Sisson, Projects and Membership Manager
If you’re a regular follower of HE political shenanigans then you’ll be aware that the accounting status of student loans on the government books is under threat. In short, despite the ONS deciding last year that the government’s current treatment, which ensure the loans are never seen as a spending liability, is correct, this is now challenged on a number of fronts – not least from a revision by the ONS itself.
There’s a good round-up of where we’re at from Research Professional, and sector commentator Andrew McGettigan has written extensively on the subject, with an article based on his talk earlier this month to the Wonkhe/BUFDG ‘Proceed with Caution’ event due on his website later today.
What does this mean for universities? We can’t know for sure, but with any revision of the accounting treatment seen as additional public spending, a tightening of funding for the sector would seem increasingly likely.
