Loan repayments begin

In the April after graduation When students earn more than �18,192

Loans are cancelled

When the borrower dies If the borrower receives disability benefit and is unfit for work After 25 years or when borrower reaches 50

The scale of debt has become a major concern for student unions, with campaigns highlighting debt problems among students.

The president of the National Union of Students, Owain James, said: "The facts speak for themselves.

"A direct comparison between students working under the old and new systems shows a 46% difference in average debt within one year."

The Student Loans Company (SLC) was created as a means of providing affordable loans to students when local authority maintenance grants were withdrawn.

In the year 1999-00, 724,000 students received a loan from the SLC, compared to 660,000 in the previous year.

But over a quarter (26%) of those eligible for loans were not taking them up.

The statistics also show the SLC is recovering loans at well above its target rate - by the end of the 1999-2000 financial year the company had collected �278m of repayments.

Loans for living

New entrants to higher education in 1999-00 (together with those who started in 1998-99) receive support for their living costs solely through loans, which are partly assessed by their income.

Grants are only available for some limited allowances, such as single-parent or disabled students.

From 1999-00, students loans were made available to those aged 50-54, who intend to go back to work once they have finished studying.

The amount owed by each student is adjusted annually in line with inflation. In 1999-00, the adjustment was 2.1%.

Payment deferred

In 1999-00, the SLC statistics show, 39% were granted a deferment on their repayments, because their income was below the threshold of �18,192 per annum.

Borrowers are expected to repay their loans from the April after completing their course, unless their income is still below this repayments threshold.

The relatively high number of people who defer payments might be explained by a slower growth in graduate salaries.

In a survey of graduates last year, Barclays Bank found 21.5% of graduates were earning less than �10,000, with the average salary being �13,723 per annum.

The same study put the total student debt (debt extending beyond student loans, such as credit cards) at �3.5bn - �1.7bn more than the total borrowed through the SLC.