Transparency data

SLC Board meeting minutes September 2025

Updated 3 December 2025

1. Attendees

1.1 Present

• Sir Peter Lauener (PL) - Chair

• Chris Larmer (CL) - Chief Executive Officer

• Natasha Toothill (NT) - Non-Executive Director

• Gary Page (GP) - Non-Executive Director

• Margaret Ollerenshaw (MO) - Non-Executive Director

• Stephen Marston (SM) - Non-Executive Director

• Janette Campbell (JCA) - Non-Executive Director

• Mandy Beech (MB) - 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 (CB) – DfE (by videoconference)

• Lorna Caldwell (LC) – Scottish Government (by videoconference)

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

• Alan Scott (AS) – Head of Student Support Policy NI (by videoconference)

• Jason Dunham (JD) – CIO

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

• Nauman Dar (ND) – 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)

• Prof. Anne Marie Kilday (AMK) – Stakeholder Forum Chair (for Item 8.1 and 8.2 only) (by videoconference)

• Rose Little (RL) – Programme Director Change and Data (for Item 8.3 only) (by videoconference)

2. Apologies

Victoria Bowman – SAAS

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.  Apologies from VB and JOC were noted.

There were no declarations of interest.

5. Chair Update

5.1 Update from the Chair on relevant matters

PL asked AR to outline the recent announcement made by the Secretary of State for Education.  AR noted that, while addressing the Labour Party Conference on Monday, the Secretary of State for Education had announced that the Government plan to reintroduce means tested maintenance grants.  These would be available for priority courses which support Government missions and the industrial strategy and would be funded via a levy on fees from international students.  AR noted that further detail would be provided in the autumn budget statement and that the detail announced so far – and the further detail that would follow - was the result of close co-design on the practicality of delivery between DfE and SLC.   PL welcomed that SLC had been fully engaged in this and suggested the Board discuss the announcement in more detail once further detail was available.

PL noted that on 9 September he had attended a DfE Higher Education Direct event at Sheffield Hallam University where he took part in a panel alongside Dame Nicola Dandridge, Professor of Practice in Higher Education Policy at the University of Bristol, and Professor Malcolm Press, Vice Chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University. 

PL highlighted that the recruitment to appoint his successor had been launched on 11 September, and as part of the process he would be presenting two webinars for potential candidates alongside Patrick Curry (PC) and AR. 

PL explained that on 22 September, he and CL had met with Phil Smith, Chair of Skills England, and Co-CEO Sarah McLean where they had discussed how SLC data is used, LLE and Skills England’s early priorities.  The meeting had been very positive, and Skills England were keen to have regular contact.     

Finally, PL noted that NED annual reviews were underway.

6. Strategic items

6.1 CEO Report

AB, AT and NMC joined the meeting.

CL introduced the CEO Report, highlighting the key areas covering his risk opinion, customer, shareholder, colleague, and performance. 

Risk Opinion

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CL highlighted that SLC had the best possible business continuity plans in place and that these had been tested during a successful simulation in September.  CL noted that the SLC team had performed well and received some positive learns to enhance readiness. 

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Customer Operations

JCU reported that the academic cycle continued to outperform previous years, with applications ready to be paid 1.2% up on last year.  CX interventions had reduced calls overall, with faster performance times for calls answered and fewer abandoned calls.  JC noted that thanks to proactive communications, there was a 43% drop in calls offered in the week following A level results, with a wait time of 20 seconds compared to 30 minutes last year. £2.3bn in maintenance support had already been paid, with the first tuition fees due to be paid in October. 

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DSA and Repayments

JCU explained that DSA CSAT was currently just below the 70% APRA target at 69%.  JCU was confident that the 12-month average CSAT of 70% would be achieved.  More eligible applications were processed with funding approved than last year, but JC noted that SLC was still not yet delivering the service it wanted for DSA customers and would continue to strive for better.  Repayments efficiency remained strong, with direct collections at £60.1m, and CSAT at 64%.

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Communications

Responding to comments from the Board which focused on protecting SLC’s reputation, DW noted that communications adopted a three-pronged approach: monitor; protect; and build.  Monitoring activity included analysing complaints data and the external market.  Protect was about being on the front foot, with FAQs and stories ready to react to issues, and build was largely focussed on building stakeholder relationships.

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Shareholder

CL thanked PC and AR for early and ongoing engagement on all student finance policy considerations to ensure that SLC and DfE were doing everything possible to help Ministers make the best decisions for citizens, students, and taxpayers. 

CL explained that as well as the meeting with Skills England which the Chair had referenced, he had a productive meeting with UUK CEO, Vivienne Stern, on 26 September, where they had exchanged updates. 

Responding to a question from the Board on the recent Cabinet reshuffle, AR noted that officials were used to working cross-department and that Minister Smith’s expanded and cross-departmental portfolio would ensure that policy was joined up across government. 

Colleague

Engagement

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In terms of wider colleague engagement, and replying to a point raised by the Board, GB noted that there was still work to do in terms of workload, reward, and wellbeing

Pay Remit

CL announced that the Pay Remit had been confirmed at the maximum allowed allocation.

Senior Leadership Programme

CL highlighted that the SMT had recently gone through a Franklin Covey Senior Leadership Programme.  There had been a positive response and immediate uptake of the tools and learnings, and CL had committed to continued investment in senior leaders as SLC went through the next phase of transformation. 

ELT Roadshows

CL thanked the ELT for the time they had committed to the recent series of roadshows across SLC’s sites.  CL thanked the Communications Team for their excellent support on content and logistics and noted that there would be another series of events in March.  Responding to a question from the Board, CL noted that this would build on announcements still to be made and would provide a platform for the delivery of Enable.   

In summary PL noted that the Board took assurance that the key issues, although challenging, were being well managed, and specifically noted the successful Apply to Pay round.  PL also welcomed the approval to proceed for the Enable Business case which had been a team effort between SLC and DfE, and the commitment of the ELT to meet colleagues across SLC’s sites.

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AB, AT and NMC left the meeting.

6.2 CFO Report

SMC joined the meeting.

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Catalyst

AMC explained that confirmed Catalyst savings of £3.7m had already been removed from the baseline budgets allocated within SLC.  Along with the extra £1.6m validated by Customer Operations, there was a high degree of confidence that the forecast savings for this year would be achieved.  Extra funding had been put into Catalyst to protect the investment that had already been made, and this cost had also been covered. 

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Digital Inter-Ministerial Innovation Fund 

AMC noted that SLC had been awarded £2m from the Digital Inter-Ministerial Innovation Fund to be held within an internal ringfence with separate reporting requirements.  The funding would support SLC to exploit agentic AI capabilities in the CRM platform.

External Audit

AMC noted that SLC had received Management Letter points from NAO all of which were low risk or green.  There would be a joint lessons learned exercise following by planning for the next ARA cycle.

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Bothwell Street Dilapidations

In response to a question from the Board, DW noted that the issue was now effectively in Court with a preliminary hearing having taken place, the purpose of which is to agree the scope of any dilapidations claim.

In summary PL noted that the Board took assurance that SLC finances were understood and well managed.   He noted that the mid-year review was coming up and that the Board would be provided with a high-level readout in October, with the fuller detail of the mid-year position coming to the November Board.

SMC left the meeting.

7. Reports from Committees

7.1 RemCo Chair Report

GP introduced the RemCo Chair Report noting that RemCo had met that morning in closed session to consider progress on the TOM.

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The Board would be updated on the TOM at the Board Strategy Session in November.

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The Board noted the RemCo Chair Report.

7.2 TOC Chair Report

TT introduced the TOC Chair Report noting that the 3 September meeting had been opened to all Non-Executive Directors and shareholders.  The meeting had considered the purpose of TOC and noted a pragmatic ToR which would evolve as the Enable Business Case progressed.  Two key items had been discussed: LLE (which was a regular substantive item on the Board agenda) and the OBC.  TT noted that Angela McCafferty and Carol Ann Cox had led the Committee through the OBC, with TOC challenging on costing, value, benefits and procurement. 

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ND welcome the support on Enable from the Board and from TOC. 

The Board noted the TOC Chair Report.

8. External Partners and Directors’ Reports

8.1 Stakeholder Forum Chair Annual Report

AMK joined the meeting.

PL welcomed AMK to the SLC Board, thanking her for chairing the Stakeholder Forum and noting that she would stay for the Provider Performance item in addition to the Stakeholder Forum item.

AMK introduced the Stakeholder Forum Chair Annual Report noting that it covered strategic matters discussed by the Forum over the year.  The Forum recognised that SLC was striving to make customer experience as good as it could be and had used the Forum as a sounding board.

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In response to a question on the Forum’s feedback on the DSA service, AMK noted that the Forum had urged SLC to make sure that customers were part of the improvement process – she noted that students can bypass support put in place for them, so it was important to keep students part of the feedback loop rather than replying on system usage as an indicator.  

In response to a question on the scope of the Forum, AMK noted that it was not the Forum’s remit to focus on the learner experience, rather the focus was the relationship between SLC and providers, though the Forum did hear from learners via case studies.  AMK also noted that there were learner representatives on Forum subgroups.   DW noted that the Customer Panel has Apply and Repay customers representatives which prompted PL to ask SLC to consider opportunities for both NEDs and Stakeholder Forum members to attend the Customer Panel.

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PL thanked AMK for prompting an interesting discussion, noting the value of the Stakeholder Forum which would undoubtedly increase as the launch of LLE drew closer.  

8.2 Provider Performance

DR introduced Provider Performance noting the related ‘Leaning In’ that had taken place that morning.  DR explained that the use of HEP data as triggers for assessment and payment remained a key control on the distribution of student funding.  Provider performance was closely tracked and reported on, with targets set as SLAs but not as legally binding contracts.  There was an established system for addressing poor performance, and there were channels for escalation, including to regulatory organisations.  SLC had a healthy and collaborative relationship with DfE, OfS and others in this regard. 

While there was always scope for improvement, overall, there was strong performance across the sector, with DR noting that providers have different priorities, including maintaining participation.

AR noted that the vast majority of HEPs were meeting service level standards. 

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In summary PL noted that the Board welcomed this paper and that there was scope to explore a wider range of levers to improve provider performance. 

AMK left the meeting.

8.3 LLE/HE Reform Biannual Update

RL joined the meeting.

DR introduced the LLE / HE Reform Biannual Update noting that the LLE programme had continued to progress with design and build for the new service.  Key milestones were due to be reached at the end of October and for design at the end of December for the build. 

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DR explained that planning was in place to cover test and business readiness activity from January to September 2026.  The Enable Programme was separately working on build out of LLE technology as the foundation for the Digital Student Finance System (DSFS) and plans were that the system would support the Postgraduate Funding Service for English and Welsh students from April 2026. 

In terms of the broader HE Programme, DR noted that the final step to implement the new Plan 5 repayment regime would come with the beginning of repayments at the start of the new FY2026-27 tax year.  Separately, Alternative Student Finance completed Discovery as planned in March 2024, with Inception scheduled to begin in October 2025. 

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PL summed up that the key message for the Board was being able to take assurance from the ways of working with DfE.

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RL left the meeting.

9. Governance

9.1 Board Effectiveness Review

PL introduced the Board Effectiveness Review Action Plan noting that the action plan would be a living document. 

HB explained that of the six key recommendations from the report, the action plan had been agreed between PL, SLC and DfE.  JCA asked that the actions be made more specific by naming the individuals who would take them forward.

ACTION: BER Action plan to be updated to add named individuals. 

9.2 Board Schedule

PL introduced the Board Dates Schedule 2026-27

It was agreed that the list of dates and times would be email out to the Board.

ACTION: List of dates and times for the 2026-27 meetings schedule to be emailed out to the Board. 

The Board noted the Board Dates Schedule 2026-27.

9.3 Minutes from previous meeting

The minute of the 31 July 2025 Board meeting was approved as an accurate record.

9.4 Matters arising from previous meetings

The matters arising document was approved as accurate.

10. Any other business

It was noted the 30 October Board meeting started at the earlier time of 09:00 due to the RemCo meeting that same afternoon. 

10.1 Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting was confirmed as being at 09:00 on Thursday 30 October 2025, the Glasgow Boardroom or by Teams.

There being no other business the meeting ended at 13:15