JAFO
The NPPL will not be appreciably cheaper at the start
Glad you agree.
the "running costs" could make the difference between someone who stays with it and someone who falls by the wayside.
What "running costs"? The difference in the cost of the two medicals, spread over two years' flying. Anything else?
Even instructors I know personally agree with me. They don't necessarily tell their customers that though, because a NPPL looks cheaper on their school price list, which is why the flight training industry lobbied for it.
Time to duck again.