CPR for longer break between Part 1 and Part 2 architectural studies

The request was partially successful.

Dear Student Loans Company Limited,

I would like to inquire the following:

- Have any exceptions ever been made previously by SLC for architectural student who took longer than 3 years break between Part 1 and Part 2 course? Have any students been granted Tuition Fee Loan despite the longer break?

- If the above have ever been the case how many people have been granted the loan and what were the reasons for doing so? What CPR have they had or perhaps any other reasons?

- Does SLC has the authority to make discretion in certain cases to decide whether to give person a loan or not?

- I find that information on CPR online is very limiting. Can you please provide more detailed documents on this? This is for England.

Yours faithfully,

Volha Prus

SLC FOI Requests - Do Not Reply, Student Loans Company Limited

This is an automated response to let you know that your email has been
received by the Student Loans Company Limited ("SLC").

SLC's Freedom of Information Office is only able to deal with requests for
information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 ("FOIA"). If your
email relates to a request for information under the FOIA, a separate
acknowledgement will be issued with a request reference.

If your email is in relation to a student finance application or account
enquiry, and you have provided sufficient details to identify your account,

your email will be passed to the relevant department. Alternatively,
please contact us using the customer contact details available at
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati....

If your email is not a customer enquiry then it has been passed to the
relevant department.

SLC's Freedom of Information Office is unable to advise response timescales

for other departments.

show quoted sections

FOI Requests, Student Loans Company Limited

Dear Volha Prus

Thank you for your email dated 9th July 2020.

Your request is being considered under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (“FOIA”).

Your request has been allocated reference number 114-20.

We will respond to you under the terms of the FOIA and within 20 working
days.

Yours sincerely

Louise Chapman | Senior Legal Executive
Freedom of Information Office
Student Loans Company
100 Bothwell Street, Glasgow G2 7JD

[1]www.gov.uk/slc
Follow us at [2]Twitter/SLCcomms for the latest corporate news and updates

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. http://www.gov.uk/slc
2. http://www.twitter.com/SLCcomms

FOI Requests, Student Loans Company Limited

1 Attachment

Dear Volhus Prus

We refer to your recent email dated 9^th July 2020 requesting the
following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“FOIA”):

“- Have any exceptions ever been made previously by SLC for architectural
student who took longer than 3 years break between Part 1 and Part 2
course?  Have any students been granted Tuition Fee Loan despite the
longer break?

- If the above have ever been the case how many people have been granted
the loan and what were the reasons for doing so? What CPR have they had or
perhaps any other reasons?

- Does SLC has the authority to make discretion in certain cases to decide
whether to give person a loan or not?

- I find that information on CPR online is very limiting. Can you please
provide more detailed documents on this? This is for England.”

Response

Having reviewed your request and carried out a search of our records, we
can confirm that your request is being refused under section 12(1) of the
FOIA.   In order to search for, retrieve, collate and extract the
information you have requested would exceed the appropriate limit set out
in the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and
Fees) Regulations 2004.  The limit applying to SLC is £450 or 2.5 days
(calculated to be 18 hours of staff time at £25 per hour).  

By way of explanation, to search for the information you have requested
under question 1 and 2 would exceed 18 hours of staff time as individual
account notes would need to be reviewed.  

By way of advice and assistance, within the appropriate costs limit we can
respond to questions 3 and 4.  

To save you having to submit a narrowed request for a response to
questions 3 and 4, we can confirm the following.

Question 3 – SLC does have some discretion to decide whether or not to
award a tuition fee loan in such circumstances.  The discretion can be
applied at appeals based on evidence the applicant provides – we may see
evidence they have maintained a link to the course or they may have been
unwell or taken time out for a family etc, we might look at the evidence
at the point of assessment too.  If no link to Architecture has been
maintained, an applicant would be classed as postgraduate for RIBA Part 2.

Question 4 – it is not clear what online information about Compelling
Personal Reasons (“CPR”) you have identified and reviewed.  In the first
instance we would refer you to the Assessing Eligibility Guidance Chapter
2020/21 which is available online at
[1]https://www.practitioners.slc.co.uk/medi...
which contains policy guidance on CPR (starting on page 79).  

In the event that you have already come across the Assessing Eligibility
Guidance Chapter, then we have attached an internal document, the CPR
Advisor Guide.  Please note that redactions have been made to staff names
under section 40(2) of the FOIA (by virtue of section 40(3A) and 40(3B).
If the disclosure of third party personal data would contravene any of the
eight data protection principles contained within the Data Protection Act
2018 (“DPA 2018”) the exemption under section 40(3A) and 40(3B) of the
FOIA will apply.  It is unlikely that it would be within the expectations
of the individuals concerned that their names would be put into the public
domain.  It is considered unfair to the named individuals to release
information which could be used to identify them.  Therefore disclosure
would be in contravention of the principles of the DPA 2018 which requires
personal data to be processed lawfully and fairly and the exemption under
section 40(2) of the FOIA applies.      

Internal review process

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the
right to ask for an internal review.

Internal review requests should be submitted within two months of the date
of receipt of the response to your original request and should be
addressed to the Freedom of Information Office, Student Loans Company
Limited, 100 Bothwell Street, Glasgow, G2 7JD,  or by email:
[SLC request email].  Please remember to quote the reference number
above in any future communications.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision.  The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House  
Water Lane  
Wilmslow  
Cheshire  
SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely

Louise Chapman | Senior Legal Executive
Freedom of Information Office
Student Loans Company
100 Bothwell Street, Glasgow G2 7JD

[2]www.gov.uk/slc
Follow us at [3]Twitter/SLCcomms for the latest corporate news and updates

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. https://www.practitioners.slc.co.uk/medi...
2. http://www.gov.uk/slc
3. http://www.twitter.com/SLCcomms