Procurement at SLC

The Commercial Services team is responsible for the majority of procurement activity across the Student Loans Company (SLC).

Introduction

The Student Loans Company (SLC) buys a wide range of goods and services. Most of our procurement activity involves a competitive tendering process and are subject to regulations and policies depending on their value.

How to do business with us

As a public sector organisation we must follow UK laws that govern how we buy goods, services and works over a specified value or ‘threshold’.

We will use suitable framework agreements to contract with suppliers in the first instance. Some of these framework agreements can be found here:

Where framework agreements are not suitable to meet business requirements, we will obtain quotations from the market or advertise contracting opportunities on the Find a Tender service. 

Appropriate routes to market are based on the value of a contract which is detailed below:

contract value (excluding vat) route to market
£1 - £9,999 obtain a single documented quotation
£10,000 - £49,999 obtain 3 competitive written quotations
£50,000 - £179,086 advertise contract opportunity nationally (not subject to the Procurement Regulations)
> £179,086 advertise contract opportunity in line with the Procurement Regulations

We publish a forward pipeline of potential contract opportunities over £2 million on the Find a Tender Service.   We may also utilise Planned Procurement Notices to advise the market of forthcoming opportunities.

UK Procurement Law

As a public sector body we must comply with legislation via the application of the Procurement Act 2023 (PA23) and the Procurement Contract Regulations 2024, which set out how we buy goods, services and works. These regulations promote competition and ensure that all potential suppliers are treated equally and have the same clear understanding of our requirements.

PA23 came into force on 24 February 2025 to improve the way we procure supplies, services and works for the public sector. The Act applies to contract award procedures commenced (through publication of a tender notice) on or after 24th February 2025. Procedures commenced before that date will continue to be governed by the old Public Contract Regulations 2015 regime.

Cabinet Office has a dedicated supplier page for the Procurement Act 2023 which contains guidance and learning, as part of a wider package of resources.

Further information is also available on:

The Central Digital Platform

All businesses in the UK are now required to register on The Central Digital Platform through Find a Tender. They will submit and store certain core organisational information, as required by the regulations to participate in a covered procurement.

Further information is available in the Central Digital Platform - factsheet.

Standard Contractual Terms and Conditions

When we contract with suppliers, the goods, services or works delivered are subject to SLC standard terms and conditions.. Our purchase orders are also subject to our terms and conditions unless agreed otherwise.

For above threshold contracts we may use the following terms and conditions:

We may augment them with a small number of SLC-specific terms and conditions.

Where buying from a framework, we use the corresponding Crown Commercial Service (CCS) framework terms and conditions.

We have a zero tolerance policy towards modern slavery and human trafficking. We are committed to acting ethically and with integrity in all business dealings, taking steps to ensure that modern slavery and human trafficking do not exist in any part of our business or supply chains, and continually aiming to improve our procurement practices to combat these crimes. You can read our policy statement on Modern Slavery.

Payment and Invoicing

SLC are committed to complying with government requirements regarding timely payments to suppliers.  Our standard payment terms are 30 days from receipt of a valid invoice.

We therefore operate a “No PO, No Pay” Policy to help us streamline our payment processes. 

Goods and services must only be supplied to SLC after receipt of an official purchase order (PO). If a valid purchase order number is not quoted on the invoice, then the invoice will be returned to the supplier, with a request to resubmit.  Valid purchase order numbers will be in the format PO-XXXXXX.

Contact and Feedback

Continuous improvement and quality of service is important to us. Therefore, should you require further information or, as a supplier would like to provide feedback on the procurement process, please do not hesitate to contact the Commercial Services team by emailing: Commercial_governance@SLC.co.uk

Contents