The Student Loans Company has again delayed applications for the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) to carry out “final additional testing”. A launch date for students to apply to the new loan system was expected this month but has been moved back to late October to ensure “a robust application service” is available for learners. Applications for the new post-18 student loan funding system were originally planned to start in February 2025. The flagship funding system, which should still be available to students taking courses from January 2027, will replace higher education student finance loans and advanced learner loans for level 4, 5 and 6 qualifications. The one-month delay to applications was confirmed in an update posted on the government’s information page for the LLE today. A Student Loans Company (SLC) spokesperson told FE Week: “LLE is a brand-new funding system for England, bringing a fundamental change to how student finance is delivered to customers. “To support the launch, we’re taking the opportunity to complete final additional testing to ensure a robust application service is available to support initial learners. “The change to the application window timeline will not affect any learner wishing to start a course in January 2027. Applications will open at the end of October, with payments being made as intended.” Through the LLE, learners in England will have access to up to £39,160 for higher technical qualifications and degree-level courses. Funding for individual modules will be limited to subjects that align with the government’s priority skills needs and industrial strategy. However, officials have long warned that designing the new system, which the SLC will administer, is “highly complex” and that its popularity “depends on behavioural change” among providers, learners and employers. In May the government confirmed 130 colleges and universities will offer LLE-funded modules of higher education courses in ten subjects from January 2027. The approved subject areas include computing, building and planning, chemistry, and health and social care. However, trials of the short courses in recent years have resulted in weak student demand. The first trial, in 2022-23, achieved five per cent of its enrolment target. The second, in 2024-25, attracted 350 students – way short of a 1,800 learner target. Early feedback from an evaluation suggested recruiting students was a “major challenge”, employers had “low levels” of understanding, and providers found rules for gaining module approval “burdensome and inflexible”.