Many graduates across the UK are failing to keep up with their student loan repayments, statistics show.

Figures from the Student Loans Company (SLC) show £186.3m worth of loan repayments were in arrears by the end of the financial year in 2005-06.

Opposition MPs called on the government to address the issue of student debt.

In total students and graduates owed nearly £18.7bn in loans accrued over recent years, including those not yet due for repayment, the figures show.

Any graduate still paying off their loan 25 years after graduation will have their outstanding debt paid by the government

Bill Rammell, Higher Education Minister

The SLC published statistics for two types of loan - the old system of "mortgage style loans" and the new "income contingent" loans.

The mortgage-style loans involve graduates repaying the debt themselves every month, usually through a direct debit.

For the newer, income contingent loans, the repayments are usually automatically deducted from graduates' pay by their employers.

Most of the loans in arrears were for the old mortgage-style arrangement, which was replaced with the new system in 1998.

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