Transparency data

SLC Board meeting minutes April 2024

Updated 13 December 2024

1. Attendees

1.1 Present

• Peter Lauener (PL) - Chair

• Chris Larmer (CL) - Chief Executive Officer

• Natasha Toothill (NT) - Non-Executive Director

• Gary Page (GP) - Non-Executive Director

• Charlotte Moar (CM)- Non-Executive Director

• Stephen Tetlow (ST) - Non-Executive Director

• David Wallace (DW) - Deputy Chief Executive Officer

• Audrey McColl (AMC) - CFO

• Gary Womersley (GW) - Company Secretary

1.2 Also in attendance

• Anne Rimmer (AR) - DfE (by videoconference)

• Evelyn Aitken (EA) – Scottish Government (by videoconference)

• Chris Williams (CW) - Welsh Government (by videoconference)

• Martin McCourt (MMCC) - Department for the Economy NI (by videoconference)

• Jason Dunham (JD) – CIO

• David Beattie (DB) – Executive Director, Change, Data and Repayments

• Derek Ross (DR) - Executive Director, HE and FE Reform

• Gillian Brydie (GB) - Executive Director, People

• Helen Bogan (HB) – Head of Governance and Planning

• Stuart Brydson (SB) - Board Secretary (Secretariat)

• Adam Treslove (AT) - Head of Corporate Affairs (for Item 6.1 only) (by videoconference)

• Nicholas McDermott (NMC) – Chief of Staff (for item 5.1 only)

• David Thomson (DT) – Head of Operational Readiness

• Nicholas McDermott (NMC) – Chief of Staff (for Item 6.1 only) (by videoconference)

• Alan Balanowski (AB) – Risk Director (for Item 6.1 and 6.2 only) (by videoconference)

• Steven Darling (SD) – Director of Customer Experience (for item 7.2 only)

• Stephen Baker (SBA) – Director of Policy Design and Change (for item 8.1 only) (by videoconference)

2. Apologies

• Jackie Currie - SLC

• Victoria Bowman - Scotland

• Sinead Gallagher - Wales

• Jonny O’Callaghan - NI

3. FOI Notice

Where asterisks (*) appear, these sections have been excluded from the minutes before placing on the website as the subject under discussion falls within one or more of the exemptions contained in Part II of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and can be reasonably withheld.        

4. Chairman’s Opening Remarks / Directors’ Matters / Declarations of Interest

PL welcomed everyone to the meeting, and especially MMCC who was attending for the first time as the NI Government assessor, and DT who was attending the meeting today in place of JC.

Apologies were noted from, JC, VB, SG, and JOC.

PL noted that this would be the final Board meeting for DB before his departure from SLC in June.  PL thanked DB for his valuable contribution.

The were no declarations of interest.

5. Chair Update

5.1 Update from the Chair on relevant matters

PL noted that Board Effectiveness Review and ARC Effectiveness Review questionnaires had been issued to all meeting attendees and encouraged everyone to complete them and return as soon as possible. 

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6. Strategic items

6.1 CEO Report

AB, NMC and AT joined the meeting.

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Public Accounts Committee (PAC)

CL noted that following his attendance at PAC on 26 February with Susan Acland-Hood, Julia Kinniburgh (JK), DfE DG Skills Group, and Susan Lapworth (SL), Office for Students Chief Executive, a post-PAC report had been published on 24 April with recommendations and themes that aligned with SLC’s Lessons Learned Report, and the subsequent GIAA and NAO Reports.  CL considered the report publication as a helpful trigger for a further conversation between JK, SL and CL to review progress. 

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CM asked about the Ministerial response.  AR noted that she would send the timeline and sought to reassure the Board that there was significant activity.  AR noted the recommendations contained within the PAC report matched the work that was already in train, and PAC had been satisfied that action was taking place. 

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DSA

CL reminded Board that SLC had successfully launched an interim service in February.

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CL thanked AR and DfE, and SLC colleagues for the support and preparation for his recent appearance at the Education Select Committee, which had been called at short notice.   

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LLE

CL advised the Board that the new phasing had been announced to the sector.  PwC had been appointed as SLC’s integration and delivery partner, and CL was confident that they had the right skills and expertise to provide the required support.  There would be quarterly ministerial oversight to review progress towards the 2025 launch that would be chaired by Baroness Barran, and attended by SLC representatives, DfE representatives, PL, and ST.

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In response to a question from CM, CW highlighted that the Welsh Government were still working closely with SLC, including on how Wales could make use of the related technology changes. 

Academic Cycle

CL noted that, given the later launch, there were around 20% less applications that at the same point last year.

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CL signposted SLC progress on the customer strategy, as set out in the Customer Experience Board paper. 

Executive Recruitment

CL echoed PL’s earlier comments in thanking DB for his valuable service to SLC.  The work to replace DB was being led by GB and her team, including a shortlist meeting tomorrow, and interviews on 14 May.  TT was the Non-Executive Director representative on the interview panel. 

Ministerial Visit

CL had been delighted to welcome Baroness Barran to officially open Clyde Place on 10 April.  The Minister’s visit had been a great opportunity to showcase the new office space, as well providing an opportunity to meet SLC colleagues to hear firsthand about the important work they do. 

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In summary PL noted that the Board took assurance that headwinds were being addressed, including effective responses to PAC and the ESC. 

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NMC and AT left the meeting.

6.2 CFO Report

AMC introduced the CFO report noting that the outturn position for FY 2023-24 reflected an underspend on Admin of £0.6m, an agreed overspend against original programme budgets of £3.3m and an underspend on Capital of £13m.  The position was provisional and subject to External Audit, with the progress of the audit and any emerging issues due to be reported to the May ARC. 

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The Board took assurance that FY2023-24 had been closed, that the ARA was on track to be completed and laid before summer recess, and that the future year budget processes were being managed well. 

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PL looked ahead positively to the preparation for the next spending review and that the work SLC had already done on future scenarios, which had been shared with the Board at the November Strategy Session, put SLC in a good place to make a credible investment case.  

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AB left the meeting.

7. ###Business Planning

Annual Business Plan FY2024-25

CL introduced the draft Annual Business Plan FY2024-25, noting that it reflected comments received and set out that SLC would aim to deliver the best possible outcomes within its financial means.

It was noted that there was some further work, on the budget and APRA measures and targets, which had to conclude before the Plan could be finalised and approved. 

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PL concluded the discussion noting that the plan would be further augmented once the budget and APRA measures and targets were confirmed.  PL proposed that rather than the Plan coming back to the Board, he, ST and GP would approve the plan offline.

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8. Directors’ Reports

8.1 DSA Transformation Programme

AT joined the meeting.

DT introduced the DSA Transformation Programme item noting that interim service went live on 26 February had delivered a ‘one stop shop’ for customers and reduced the risk of instability in the market.  DT noted that there was, as yet limited customer feedback and satisfaction data as this had not been sought.  The programme had determined not to immediately seek customer views but allow the service to bed in first.  It was anticipated that customer feedback would start to be collated and tracked from late May.

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CL noted that in all DSA communications, SLC had flagged that further reform activity, including digitising the application process for all customers, would be delivered from FY2025 onwards. 

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DT noted that while very early days, customer benefits were ahead of expectations.  DT noted a Radio 4 interview he had given where students had noted the speed of the process and gaps between suppliers as the key issues with DSA provision – both of these had now been addressed. 

AR noted that the DSA enhancements due to be delivered via API and automatic transfer were important, long awaited and had been a significant part of the narrative at the ESC.  CL noted that all stakeholders want to make sure that commitments are delivered on.

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PL summed up the item, noting the very helpful update.  PL noted that he was encouraged by the improvement in application process and noted that the next stage was realisation of commercial benefits.

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AT left the meeting. 

8.2 Customer Experience and Channel Strategy

SD joined the meeting.

SD introduced Customer Experience and Channel Strategy noting success in meeting and exceeding APRA targets, highlighting Repayments C-Sat in particular, which improved significantly over the year.  SD outlined the scale of SLC’s digital business, with circa 75 million digital interactions, a 10% reduction in paper applications and the virtual assistant supporting digital containment.  SD noted the work still to do and referenced alignment with the CDDO digital agenda which SD saw as an opportunity to deliver better, lower cost services for customers.

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The Board noted that it would be helpful to know where SLC benchmarked against other public sector customer service organisations, in terms of alignment with the CDDO digital strategy and ways of working. 

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SD noted that a new cross-government group was being established, and this may provide opportunities for benchmarking and also to understand considerations regarding funding.

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DW noted that there remained frictional costs and that while SLC was an increasingly digital business, channel containment was an issue SLC was trying to manage more effectively.  DW noted that this point linked to funding and the need for a multi-year investment. 

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PL summed up the discussion, noting thanks to frontline and CX colleagues who had experienced a challenging few months with increased pressures, especially in repayments.  PL noted that focus on over-repayments was likely to be an ongoing feature of the annual cycle.  PL also noted the progress SLC was making towards being a fully digital business, and that it was helpful that SD was progressing consideration of benchmarking with other, similar government customer service providers.  PL also noted the work on avoiding foreseeable harm, commending SD and his team on this important work.

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8.3 Complaints and Appeals

SBA joined the meeting.

SBA introduced Complaints and Appeals, noting that there were three key themes in the paper: a continued reduction in A2P complaints, with an attendant reduction in processing times; an increase in Repayments complaints related to terms and conditions rather than SLC service; and a sustained increase in Appeals with residency continuing to be the key driver, which again was not linked to SLC error but customer confusion given the difference between Home Office and DfE residency criteria. 

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The Board discussed BAU funding and whether, with LLE being launched, there would be adequate funding to cover a likely uptick in activity, future projections on Complaints and Appeals with increased counter-fraud activity and whether the Board could provide any support in relation to the residency issue.

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In response, SBA noted that the point about LLE was well made.  SLC was working on clear signposting and clear communications.  SBA and the Financial Crime Prevention Unit (FCPU) were working closely together to consider future projections, based on FCPU activity.

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As progress was made towards the launch of LLE, PL noted that consideration had to be given to the flow-through to Complaints and Appeals, with assumptions being tested. 

SBA left the meeting.

9. Governance

9.1 Minutes of meeting held on 1 December

The minutes of the 28 March meeting was approved as an accurate record, subject to a minor edit from AMC.

9.2 Matters arising from previous meetings

The matters arising document was approved as accurate.

9.3 Board ToR and Code of Conduct

HB introduced the Board ToR and Code of Conduct.

The Board endorsed the Board ToR and Code of Conduct.

10. Any other business

PL urged Board members and attendees to complete and return the Board Effectiveness and ARC Effectiveness questionnaires that had been issued.  The results would be discussed at the annual Chairs’ meeting on 28 May. 

PL noted that a Benefits Realisation ‘teach in’ was being arranged for June.

10.1 Date of Next Meeting

The next formal meeting was confirmed as being at 10.00 am on Thursday 27 June 2024 in the Glasgow Boardroom or by Teams.

There being no other business the meeting ended at 1.25 pm.