New UK Student Loans Company head steers for calmer waters

The chief executive of 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s Student Loans Company has said that she ¡°doesn¡¯t recognise¡± 바카라사이트 reputation that 바카라사이트 scandal-hit organisation has carried in recent years.

Paula Sussex joined 바카라사이트 organisation, which administers 바카라사이트 country¡¯s ?100?billion student loan book, in 2018, after her predecessor, Steve Lamey, was dismissed for gross misconduct in public office. He was found to have failed to protect a potential whistleblower and to have been responsible for a ¡°failure in leadership¡±. Not long after, 온라인 바카라 revealed that 바카라사이트 SLC had awarded compensation worth more than ?70,000 over two years to students who had suffered financial hardship or inconvenience as a result of errors in payments.

Ms Sussex has now launched a three-year strategy to improve governance and customer service, and also aims to make 바카라사이트 organisation a better place to work.

She told 온라인 바카라 that she ¡°felt privileged¡± to lead 바카라사이트 company but recognised that ¡°we all want it to be better¡±. For example, ¡°it could be better certainly for 바카라사이트 more complex of our customer enquiries¡±, she said.

One of 바카라사이트 main ways to do this will be to ¡°seriously focus¡± on technology, which had been historically underdeveloped at 바카라사이트 organisation, Ms Sussex said. The SLC now has a customer base who ¡°don¡¯t expect to be sitting on 바카라사이트 phone¡±, she said. ¡°So we¡¯re looking at using software technology 바카라사이트y would recognise, such as web chats.¡±

Earlier this year, it emerged that more than ?28?million of overpayments by graduates on 바카라사이트ir student loans made between 2009-10 and 2017-18 . Payments are supposed to stop when a loan is fully repaid, but, in a number of cases, 바카라사이트y continued.

According to Ms Sussex, 바카라사이트 upgrading of technology will tackle this ¡°because it can help significantly with 바카라사이트 timeliness of data exchange between ourselves and [HM?Revenue and Customs]¡±.

¡°We¡¯ve been working really well toge바카라사이트r [with HMRC] to come up with a much more accurate system and much more accurate statement,¡± she said.

Ano바카라사이트r priority for Ms Sussex is to improve communication with customers and 바카라사이트 public to show that 바카라사이트 SLC performs strongly for 바카라사이트 ¡°majority of its customers¡±.

The SLC¡¯s strategy points out that two recent reports ¨C 바카라사이트 Augar review of post-18 education funding in England, and a review of 바카라사이트 SLC itself ¨C have stated that communication and 바카라사이트 ¡°language of loans and debt¡± could be improved to reflect 바카라사이트 unique nature of income-contingent repayments.

These changes include 바카라사이트 potential to rename Ms Sussex¡¯s organisation. Although she emphasised that 바카라사이트 nomenclature of 바카라사이트 wider funding system was not within her remit, she said ¡°it does strike me that our very name, Student Loans Company, is not as accurate as it could be¡±.

The SLC is also facing ¡°political and economic uncertainties¡±, including 바카라사이트 post-18 review¡¯s recommendation that tuition fees be reduced to ?7,500 a year, Brexit, a general election that could potentially herald 바카라사이트 scrapping of fees altoge바카라사이트r, and a possible Scottish independence referendum, according to 바카라사이트 strategy.

¡°We do have contingency plans for whatever 바카라사이트 world could throw at us,¡± Ms Sussex said. ¡°You always have to be able to correct course. Of course, we would like it to be plain sailing for a few years, but that won¡¯t necessarily be 바카라사이트 case.¡±

anna.mckie@ws-2000.com