Question
Asked by
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the administration of the disabled students' allowance was transferred from local authorities to the Student Loans Company; and whether any difficulties were anticipated when that decision was made. [HL467]
In 2005, a review of student finance delivery arrangements in England was carried out which took on board views from a wide range of stakeholders and customers. This was followed by independent appraisal and consultation with key stakeholders on the review recommendations. A key finding of the review was that, while some bad authorities were performing well, the level of service was variable. It was concluded that a step change could only be achieved by making a single organisation responsible for both the assessment and payment of HE students' grants and loans coupled with other process and technological improvements. That decision was announced in a Written Ministerial Statement on 3 July 2006.
The Student Loans Company (SLC) consulted a Targeted Support Stakeholder Panel about the design of processes for students with disabilities on 24 June 2008, 23 October 2008 and 8 June 2009, to scrutinise the SLC's plans, proposals and offer guidance and advice. Discussions at these meetings included an overview of the new student finance service and a summary of planned changes for 2009-10 academic cycle in addition to workshops focusing on key support requirements of targeted support applicants.
Asked by
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Student Loans Company has met its corporate objective 3 “to provide a high quality service” in respect of the administration of the disabled students' allowance. [HL469]
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Student Loans Company has met its corporate objective 5 to deliver services “to budget, time and agreed quality standards” in respect of the administration of the disabled students' allowance. [HL470]
The corporate objectives referred to relate to performance measures set for the financial year 2008-09. Performance outturn is recorded in the Student Loans Company's (SLC) 2008-09 annual report, a copy of which is in the Libraries of both Houses and on SLC's website. Performance relating specifically to the administration of applications for disabled students' allowances cannot be separately identified.