The Student Loans Company (SLC) is undertaking a programme to appoint a number of strategic technology partners.

As part of its on-going commitment to improving its service to customers, the Student Loans Company (SLC) is undertaking a programme to appoint a number of strategic technology partners to support delivery of its technology refresh and modernisation agenda. This ambitious programme will transform the commercial framework and delivery models leveraged across SLC’s estate when working with strategic technology partners, developing enhanced capabilities while delivering better value for public money. The first stage of this programme commenced today with the announcement of a procurement to support the development of Customer Enablement Services to deliver improvements to the customer interface and the associated technology estate.

Working in conjunction with its partners in the Department for Education and the Cabinet Office, the SLC is developing a procurement strategy that provides the most appropriate, compliant public sector, route to market for each lot within the programme, based on the complexity and stability of the in-scope services. The first procurement will be conducted on Lot 4a of Crown Commercial Service Technology Services 2 (TS2) Framework Agreement and will appoint a partner within specific applications within the customer software delivery estate. The procurement will be administered using a Call-Off Contract of an anticipated value of approximately £200m over the life time of the contract including any permissible extensions.

Details of the future lots within the Strategic Partner Programme, including notification of the procurement route and market engagement plans will be communicated in due course.

Stephen Campbell, Chief Information Officer said: “This is the first stage of delivering a new technology model that will see us working with a small number of strategic partners to develop, deliver and support our technology estate and digital services to customers. I am confident that such an approach will deliver higher standards of service while delivering value for our customers and shareholders.”

Paula Sussex, Chief Executive Officer said: “Our new technology strategy, and proposed approach to building strategic technology partnerships, is critical to modernising our operational capability and to delivering an outstanding service to our customers.

Notes to Editors

The procurement exercise to appoint the first partner will be conducted via the Crown Commercial Services’ (CCS) ePortal on Lot 4a of the CCS’s Technology Services 2 (TS2) framework agreement, all relevant communication will be provided to the interested parties via this portal.

It is expected that the contract award will be made in Q3 Financial year 2020/21.

For further information contact:Press Office on 0141 306 2120 or [email protected]

Published 26 February 2020