One of my friend's girlfriends applied for this scheme. She did the selection and had quite a long wait to see if she'd been chosen for the full loan underwriting. Eventually they said to her "Hard luck, we won't be underwriting your loan, but you can have a place on the MPL scheme if you're willing to pay £126K like the rest...". She refused that offer. It makes me wonder whether they'll actually pay-out to anyone, or they'll just keep offering fully self-sponsored schemes.
There were rumours at my flight school about the old BA scheme. Allegedly if any male cadets underperformed or failed anything, they were dismissed. The females of course, weren't. So there are a handful of female pilots in the air for BA with numerous failed ATPL theory exams, progress tests, and check rides. The males who got through had to have immaculate training records. An instructor said the only female to get dismissed from the scheme was because she became pregnant during her training (supposedly to another male BA cadet). I'll believe that when I see it!
You can't help but despise positive discrimination. It creates so much animosity, especially when people are getting jobs, promotions, schemes, etc, based on their gender or skin colour. Knocking-back better candidates because of something out of their control. I'd back a law outlawing any form of discrimination. Positive or negative. Scheme open to this gender, society open to this race, club open to this colour... Get rid of it all. Everyone should have the same selection, the same chances, and the best should win. I'm all up for more fully-sponsored schemes, but give them to the best candidates, not the best women. That's my penny's worth anyway.