Wes Streeting

Wonga got it wronga, but so have universities

by Wes Streeting January 12, 2012

Within the space of 24 hours, legal loan shark Wonga was forced to withdraw its marketing information aimed at students following online complaints. The Helena Kennedy Foundation spoke out after our attention was drawn to their self-serving attempts to promote their short term, high interest loans as an alternative to the Student Loans Company. We were swiftly joined by the National Union of Students, consumer finance groups and an outraged Twitterati, with NUS accusing Wonga of “predatory marketing”. But this episode should raise alarm bells for university leaders, who seem to be living on another planet when it comes to the harsh reality facing students in the current economic climate.

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Student finance 2012: independent taskforce to separate facts from politics

by Wes Streeting June 17, 2011

Today, alongside Martin Lewis of moneysavingexpert.com, I am proud to be launching a major campaign – independent of government – to tackle the myths and misconceptions surrounding the true costs of higher education from 2012.

There can be no doubt that the trebling of tuition fees to £9,000 is having a major impact on the decisions taken by potential students and their families. Writing for the Guardian two months ago, I warned that “confusion around the new [tuition fees and student finance] arrangements presents a real risk that students may be deterred in the absence of the facts on fees”. Earlier this week, my fears were confirmed by a Universities UK poll showing that more than half of parents felt that they had been given insufficient information about the new student finance arrangements.

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