Lamey’s contract is terminated after ‘investigations into allegations about aspects of his management and leadership’

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The Student Loans Company has sacked its chief executive, Steve Lamey, after a long-running investigation into his conduct.

A senior official from the Department for Education is to be parachuted into the company to conduct a shakeup, which may include the company’s leadership being moved from its current location in Glasgow.



The Student Loans Company (SLC) announced on Wednesday that Lamey’s contract had been terminated following his suspension, which was first revealed by the Guardian in July. Lamey had been in the £200,000-a-year post for little over a year at the time of his suspension.

The decision over Lamey’s tenure as chief executive is understood to have been made in consultation with the DfE in London.



Student Loans Company chief suspended pending investigation Read more

“Following investigations into allegations about aspects of his management and leadership, the SLC has decided to terminate Steve Lamey’s contract as chief executive officer of the Student Loans Company (SLC),” the company said in a statement.



“The SLC and its shareholders expect the highest standards of management and leadership and these were not upheld by Mr Lamey during his time in this role.”

Peter Lauener, the current chief executive of the Education and Skills Funding Agency and the Institute for Apprenticeship, will take over later this month as the SLC’s interim chief executive. A new chief executive is expected to be appointed by early next year.



A spokesperson for the SLC denied that a shake-up was planned, saying that Lauener’s role would be to continue the company’s existing strategy “and effectively execute our business as usual activity”.

Chris Brodie, the SLC’s chairman, sent a note to staff on Friday saying that Lauener’s brief did not include moving the company from Glasgow.



In a statement Lauener said: “I am looking forward to starting my role as the interim CEO and taking the organisation forward until a permanent successor is announced.”

The SLC administers more than £100bn in loans held by 6 million students and graduates across the UK. In recent years it has been plagued by mishaps, with complaints of inefficient bureaucracy, poor customer service and unseemly practices – such as issuing fake debt collection notices – dogging its reputation.

Lamey joined the SLC as chief executive in June 2016 after senior roles at HM Revenue & Customs, including chief operations officer and chief executive of its tax credits and child benefits division.

Before joining the company, Lamey was briefly a director of the outsourcing corporation Serco.

Lamey is the third chief executive to leave under a cloud. In 2010 Ralph Seymour-Jackson resigned after the SLC failed to make payments to thousands of students. And in 2013 Ed Lester left after he was revealed to have negotiated to be paid through a private company.