The Government has announced its intention to privatise student loans as part of a plan to raise funds from the sale of public assets.

The decision to sell off the loan book at a discount to secure a cash lump sum makes no economic sense. It will in effect mean that the public is subsidising a private company to profit from the debt that students currently owe to the Government.

Last year the Government sold off £890m of student debt for just £160m to a consortium of private investors. A previous sale of the loan book in the 1990s led to Government losing out on an estimated £140m.

We call on George Osborne and Danny Alexander to halt their short-sighted plans to sell off further student debt for less than its true value.