The chief executive of the Student Loans Company (SLC), Ralph Seymour-Jackson, is under pressure to resign in the wake of a new report that sharply criticizes “technical, management and service failures” at SLC for extensive loan delays this year.

The report, which was published last Tuesday, was commissioned by David Lammy, Minister of State for Higher Education, after widespread concerns about loan delays and service problems. According to some estimates, by mid-November over 100,000 students had not received their loans.

As a result, many students have had to rely on emergency funding from universities, or seek out other sources of financing to stay afloat during the term. SLC administers all government-funded loans and grants to students throughout the United Kingdom, and serves close to a million students.

The independent report was conducted by Professor Sir Deian Hopkin, former vice-chancellor of South Bank University. It identifies a number of problems that contributed to delays, foremost among which was the use of an untested technology that failed at a crucial moment, forcing SLC to process applications manually.

The report also criticized management’s inability to predict demand levels at its contact centres, leading to severe problems in service delivery.  According to the report, at peak times, SLC was only able to answer five per cent of calls made to its helpline.

The report has made a number of recommendations for future years, including more training for SLC employees, improved customer service, and better risk management and contingency planning. According to Lammy, recommendations would be accepted in their entirety.

The findings of the report have prompted widespread criticism and calls for Seymour-Jackson’s resignation. Wes Streeting, President of the National Union of Students, released a statement saying, “Given the catalogue of failures identified by this report, heads must roll if the public are to have any confidence in the SLC in the future.”

Although Lammy has not called for Seymour-Jackson’s resignation, he did seem to suggest that management shakeup might be imminent. In his official statement accompanying the report, he said, “The Chair of the Student Loans Company has confirmed that the senior management team of the Company will be strengthened and reorganized.”

Following the release of the report, it was also announced that the start date for students to begin applying for loans for next year has been postponed indefinitely. The start date was originally scheduled for Monday, 7 December. According to SLC, the delay is necessary in order to consider the findings of the Hopkin report.