Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 13
13
Accepted
Department spending additional £300,000 to resolve loan management system functionality issues
Conclusion
The Department recognised, at the time of the system going live, that it had to resolve a small number of issues to ensure the system was operating as intended, and it planned further improvements to functionality around, for example, automatic reprofiling.26 It told us that it had entered into another contract with PwC to get this additional functionality at an extra cost of £300,000. It assured us that delivery of this functionality was underway and it was very confident that this would be in place well before September 2025 at which point all borrowers will be repaying their loans.27 Future options for managing the loan book
Government Response Summary
The full Loan Management System (LMS) Version 2 (V2) functionality was implemented in March 2025 for under £300,000 and the original PwC contract has been extended to preserve business continuity.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented: March 2025 2.2 The full Loan Management System (LMS) Version 2 (V2) functionality, as scoped by the department, was implemented in March 2025 for under £300,000 and in line with the committed plan. 2.3 The original PwC contract, which expired in March 2025, has been extended for a further year, as permitted through the original tender, to preserve business continuity and ensure appropriate support remains in place for LMS V2 functionality. The strategic review of the loan book (referenced in 1.5) will inform the requirement for a Managed Service Provider. If the role is to be retained, the Managed Service Provider contract will be re-tendered in line with appropriate government procurement guidelines and with an expectation that no further variations of the current PwC contract will be required.