Today I pressed Ministers on an issue raised with me as part of my 2015 Big Conversation by school students at Sheffield Park Academy whose faith prevented them from accessing student loans. Nobody should face barriers preventing them from accessing higher education and the opportunities that it opens to them, so I’ve backed moves for Sharia-compliant loans.

David Cameron said that they would address the issue six years ago, and there was a pledge to introduce alternative student finance in the 2016 Higher Education White Paper. Yet so far, they’ve done nothing. The Universities Minister Chris Skidmore had recently implied that it would be addressed in last week’s Augar Review, but it was barely mentioned. So I raised it again today, as you can see in the clip below, and I’ll be following it up with the Education Secretary.