Guidance

Quality Management Approach

Updated 11 August 2026

Introduction

This document outlines the Student Loans Company’s (SLC’s) approach to ensuring that its statistical publications are robust, reliable and fit for purpose. As a producer of official statistics, SLC is committed to upholding the principles and standards set out in the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice for Statistics.

Quality Assurance: SLC’s approach

Producing high-quality statistics is a key objective for SLC. Quality assurance (QA) activities are embedded throughout the statistical production process to ensure that our outputs are accurate, reliable and meet the needs of users.

Our quality assurance approach covers three key areas:

• Source data - ensuring that underlying data is accurate, complete and suitable for statistical purposes.
• Production processes - validating methodologies, calculations and data transformations to ensure they are applied consistently and correctly.
• Statistical outputs - reviewing results to ensure they are accurate, coherent and provide meaningful insights for users.

To support these quality assurance activities, we:

• Maintain regular engagement with SLC’s data suppliers to understand the strengths, limitations and any risks associated with source data, and to implement mitigating actions where necessary.
• Apply validation checks, reconciliation processes and sense-checking throughout the production cycle to identify and address potential errors.
• Regularly review methodologies, processes and quality assurance controls to identify opportunities for improvement and strengthen the quality and robustness of our statistics.
• Monitor and consider feedback from users and stakeholders to support the ongoing development and enhancement of our statistical outputs.

SLC works with the following frameworks:

• The Code of Practice for Statistics, outlining the standards to be followed in the production of official statistics, including its 3 core principles of trustworthiness, quality and value
• The AQuA book, outlining principles for good practice in the quality assurance of data analytics

SLC’s statistical production is underpinned by established cross-government statistical standards and best practice, enabling us to deliver robust, high-quality analysis and statistical outputs. We continually review our methods, processes and analytical practices to identify opportunities for improvement and further develop the skills of our staff and the efficiency of our analytical pipelines.

We are committed to ensuring our statistics remain relevant and valuable to users. Feedback is actively encouraged through publication contact details and user surveys, and we use this feedback to inform the development and improvement of our statistical outputs. More information on how we engage with users can be found in our User Engagement Strategy.

Accuracy and reliability

Source data should be error-free and consistent over time. To support quality assurance, we maintain regular engagement with data suppliers through ongoing collaboration and regular meetings. This helps us understand the strengths and limitations of source data, address data quality issues where possible, and communicate any remaining caveats transparently within our statistical publications. Further information on the data used in our statistics is available in our ‘Statement of Administrative Data Sources’ on GOV.UK.

We carry out robust quality assurance on our analysis, in line with the principles outlined in The AQuA Book.

Timelines and punctuality

SLC’s statistics are published in a timely manner, as soon practical after the data becoming available, and in line with users’ needs. Any delays usually due to the need for thorough quality assurance.

We are fully transparent on where and when we will publish releases; for more information, see our release practice policy for official statistics on GOV.UK, along with our statistics release calendar.

Revisions and Corrections

SLC makes some planned revisions as part of orderly release practices. Revisions to provisional figures will be clearly marked as ‘final’ within the next publication. Where errors are identified in our official statistics, we will correct them as promptly as possible and communicate the changes transparently. Further information is available in our revisions policy on GOV.UK.

Governance & Roles

SLC has established governance arrangements to support the production of high-quality, trustworthy and independent statistics. Responsibility for statistical governance sits with the Lead Official for Statistics, who provides oversight of statistical activities and ensures that outputs are developed and published in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics. The Lead Official is responsible for approving new statistical releases, significant methodological changes and major revisions, ensuring that decisions are based on professional judgement, user need and the public good.

The Statistics team is responsible for the production, quality assurance and publication of official statistics, working collaboratively with data suppliers, policy colleagues, operational teams and subject matter experts across the organisation. Clear roles and responsibilities are in place throughout the statistical production process, helping to ensure accountability, consistency and appropriate scrutiny of statistical outputs. Regular engagement with stakeholders, including through data quality discussions, supports the effective management of risks and continuous improvement of our statistics.

Statistical staff are supported through knowledge sharing and adherence to established quality management processes. Governance arrangements are reviewed periodically to ensure they remain effective, proportionate and aligned with best practice, enabling SLC to continue producing statistics that meet the needs of users and maintain public confidence.