Transparency data

SLC Board meeting minutes March 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)

• Courtney Brightwell - DfE (by videoconference)

• Victoria Bowman (VB) – Scottish Government (by videoconference)

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

• Connor McCarten (CMC) – Department for the Economy NI (by videoconference)

• Jonny O’Callaghan (JOC) – Department for the Economy NI (by videoconference)

• Jason Dunham (JD) – CIO

• Jackie Currie (JC) – Executive Director, Business Operations

• 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)

• Margaret McMullen (MMC) – Director of Finance (for item 6.2 only) (by videoconference)

2. Apologies

• Sinead Gallagher Wales

• Martin McCourt NI

• David Beattie SLC

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, including VB who was attending today for the first time as the Scottish Government representative.  CMC was deputising today for MMCO.

Apologies were noted from, SG, MMCO, and DB.

There were no declarations of interest.

5. Chair Update

5.1 Update from the Chair on relevant matters

PL noted that he had attended the Biannual Shareholder Meeting on 7 March and that the papers had been circulated to Board colleagues. 

PL highlighted his attendance at the ALB Chairs Network meeting on 8 March, which was also attended by Richard Pennycook, lead Non-Executive Director of DfE. 

PL and CL had attended a meeting with Baroness Barran, Minister for the School System and Student Finance on 18 March, with a spotlight on LLE.  PL also provided an update on the process to recruit new Non-Executive Directors.

PL highlighted the Board ‘leaning in’ that had taken place prior to the Board meeting and had focussed on the Financial Crime Prevention Unit and Partner Services.  PL recommended that an overview of the leaning in be arranged for GP, who had not been able to attend in person.

6. Strategic items

6.1 CEO Report

AT joined the meeting.

CL reflected on the past year, noting that over FY23-24 SLC had delivered its strategic priorities and APRA targets for customers, colleagues and shareholders, with notable success in delivering Repayment C-SAT.  One area where the APRA target had not been achieved was Employee Engagement.  CL noted the particularly strong final quarter during which three significant milestones were achieved: approval of the Pay Case; the launch of the interim DSA service; and attendance as part of the DfE/OfS/SLC team at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) which helped provide additional traction in tackling the risk of potential fraud identified in the student finance system.  CL noted that overall SLC had delivered another ‘year of better’ despite the significant challenges.

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CL noted that issues currently at the front of his mind were the FY24-25 budget and business plan which would be addressed later in the agenda, customer service and the impact of activity resulting from ‘over repayments’ on the business, and DSA Reforms.  CL noted that following the successful launch of the interim DSA service at the end of February, improvements were already being felt: the time from SLC confirming DSA eligibility to having the recommendation for equipment and training, and the time from referral by supplier to the needs assessment report submitted to SLC both being cut dramatically.    CL noted that despite the many challenges, there was much to celebrate.  CL noted the recent Star Awards as an important element in recognising and celebrating success.    There had been 450 nominations for the 13 award categories, and awards ceremonies had been led by ELT members at each of the four SLC offices.  PL added that he was due to meet some of the award winners following the Board meeting.  TT also suggested NEDs engage in future events, with DW noting that he would feed this back to his team.   

Pay Case

PL noted that 28 March (the day of the Board meeting) was actually the day when March salaries were paid and they would include the backdated pay from the pay case which had very recently been approved.

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Cyber Security

TT welcomed the appointment of the new Chief Information Security Officer (CISO).

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Loan Book

TT noted the recent media coverage on the size of student loans.  DW noted that this was as a result of a Freedom of Information request and explained that whilst the average student loan was approximately £44,000, the largest was £231,000.  It was recognised that this was an extraordinary case caused by repeat study and multiple courses being undertaken, which was all allowable within the regulations.   

Over Repayment Refunds

ST asked if the recent uptick in over-repayment refund requests had resulted in reduced performance.  DW explained that while Repayments had seen a significant increase in refund requests following publicity on this issue, C-SAT scores had increased as a result of customers receiving refunds.  DW recalled the action from the November Strategy session to consider how SLC tackles unfair outcomes, and that this would be a theme of the April CX Board report.  Thanks to incremental funding from DfE, automated refunds had gone live in the past month, with a further deployment planned for the end of April that would use robotics.  The April Board report on Customer Experience would expand on this further.

DW noted that over repayments were not errors but can occur due to the way the policy is designed.    Repayment customer whose income is not stable, for instance due to overtime worked or bonuses, will make repayments in line with the pay period threshold, but their total income for the year may be below the annual threshold.  In this scenario, customers may have over-repaid and be eligible to claim a refund.  DW noted that SLC is actively discussing this policy aspect with DfE.

CPD

PL highlighted benefits realisation, noting that SLC would not reach some of the targets this year.  DW noted the previous Board action to arrange a teach in on benefits and suggested that a review of benefits realised in FY23-24 be added to that session.

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In summary PL noted that SLC was managing substantial headwinds, including landing the near-final end of year financials, and that the Board took assurance that ELT were managing issues effectively and appropriately.  PL suggested that the ARA should tell the story of the challenges faced over FY23-24 and the difficult decisions that ELT had had to make to meet the APRA financial targets.  PL welcomed the progress made in DSA and noted the dual aims of the reforms – to increase customer service and to deliver value to taxpayers.  The first was now starting to be achieved with further progress to follow and there were also green shoots in respect of taxpayer value for money.  PL also highlighted the importance of the over repayment refund issue, noting that further insights would be provided via the CX Report at the April Board.  

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AT left the meeting.

6.2 CFO Report

MMC joined the meeting.

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AMC explained that the draft financial results would come to the April Board meeting, with the expectation of being within tolerance for Admin and Programme, but not Capital. 

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CM noted that a safe apply to pay cycle had to be the priority.  Noting that Alternative Student Finance (ASF) was in the APRA letter, it was suggested that SLC must be allowed to focus on the clear priorities with no new or non-priority asks from shareholders. It was noted that ASF implementation would not happen until after LLE. 

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The Board then discussed numerous aspects of the budget paper.

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AR acknowledged the funding constraints and the difficult choices that led to.  AR also noted that APRA targets would be maintained rather than stretched further and that this would be a challenging ask in the year ahead, adding that the language in the draft APRA would aim to reflect this challenge.  AR also acknowledged that all shareholders had continuing priorities and there would need to be a discussion on how those priorities were managed. 

PL noted that next steps were clearly set out in the paper and noted that the Board took assurance that the process to reach a balanced budget was being well managed.  The Board acknowledged the scale of the task and noted their appreciation for the work being done by ELT, let by AMC and MMC.  PL asked that the final budget paper included the rationale for the choices being made and highlighted the necessary trade-offs. 

*

MMC left the meeting.

Annual Business Plan FY2024-25

CL introduced the Annual Business Plan FY2024-25.  The Board noted that the Business Plan should align with the budget once it had been finalised, with PL suggesting that a tracked change version came to the next Board.

DW asked that Non-Executive Directors provide any further feedback to him and HB.

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6.3 Draft APRA FY 2024-25

CB introduced the Draft APRA FY2024-25 noting that the document would remain draft until issued to CL by Julia Kinniburgh, Director General for Skills, following agreement with the Devolved Administrations (DAs).  CB noted some changes in the APRA measures and targets including that KPI RAG ratings for LLE and the Change Portfolio be replaced by commentary, and it was expected that targets would be similar to FY2023-24.  Significant changes to the budget were not anticipated, meaning difficult allocation decisions would be required.  Shareholder priorities would be agreed before the final version APRA was issued.

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The Board noted that the Draft APRA would benefit from noting aspirations, despite budget constraints, to meet wider Government data policy, and that shareholder priorities should be considered in light of the funding position.   The Board also suggested that the APRA should be explicit on what SLC could not do due to funding constraints.

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PL summed up the discussion noting the need for the APRA letter to be clear on what SLC could and could not do within its funding envelope.  The Board noted the proposition that APRA targets would be largely maintained, but suggested that the letter should note that a mid-year review would be built into the process for FY24-25. 

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7. Reports from Committees

7.1 ARC Chair Report

CM introduced the ARC Chair Report noting that the Committee had been updated on the expected Moderate opinion for FY2023-24 from Internal Audit.  Following the Public Accounts Committee, ARC welcomed the increased data sharing between SLC, OfS and DfE but was keen to ensure that action was being taken. 

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The Board took assurance from the ARC Chair Report.

7.2 RemCo Chair Report

GP introduced the RemCo Chair Report noting that a one page report of the 7 March meeting would be shared with the Board.

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GP noted the progress on EDI that had been reported to the Committee.  A gender pay gap persisted but RemCo took assurance this this was due to distribution, with more males in senior roles, rather than different rates of pay for the same role.

The Board took assurance from the RemCo Chair Report.

8. Directors’ Reports

8.1 LLE He Reform Report

DR introduced the LLE HE Reform Report.

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The SLC LLE team continued to progress design activity, ensuring that the build was aligned to the future-state Technology Strategy.  DR noted that the recent IPA review of LLE had been shared via ibabs.

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DR noted the other elements of HE Reforms, highlighting progress on Alternative Student Finance, although there was no expectation that this would be delivered before 2027.  DR also confirmed that the technical changes required for Plan 5 Repayments would be delivered by February 2026.

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The Board considered the cultural shift required to make LLE a success.  DR noted that DfE was working with providers and other groups involved in the sector.  DR suggested that, as part of the next LLE Board update, a colleague from DfE could present on work to support uptake.

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PL noted the Board’s interest in work to affect the cultural shift needed to ensure LLE succeeded and welcomed DR’s suggestion that DfE present on this at the next LLE update.

ACTION:  DfE to present on market preparation as part of the next LLE update.

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9. Governance

9.1 Minutes of meeting held on 1 December

The minutes of the 29 February meeting was approved as an accurate record.

9.2 Matters arising from previous meetings

The matters arising document was approved as accurate.

9.3 Board Work Schedule 2024-25

HB introduced the Board Work Schedule 2024-25 noting that a DfE Non-Executive Director would be invited to attend a Board meeting.

TT highlighted that there were no colleague-related items.  HB noted that People items were discussed at RemCo, with GP as RemCo Chair providing the update at Board.  HB noted that she would, however, discuss with GP and GB

10. Any other business

PL noted that, with the agreement of DfE, the 2024 Board Effectiveness Review would be internal and would cover Board, ARC and RemCo.  Questionnaires would be issued to Board and Committee members and attendees in mid-April.

10.1 Date of Next Meeting

The next formal meeting was confirmed as being at 10.00 am on Tuesday 30 April 2024 by Teams with Executive hosting from the Glasgow Boardroom.

There being no other business the meeting ended at 1.10 pm.