Thursday 18th August – a day etched in the minds of students across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. After what feels like the longest wait, they will finally receive their A-Level results.

Once the results are in and the initial excitement (or disappointment) has settled, decisions need to be made, which for some will mean finding a course through Clearing. The window for Clearing is expected to be particularly busy this year and we understand it is an anxious time for students and their parents, as they are eager to secure a spot on a course and cement their plans for the year ahead.

Our Operations team deals with around 1.5m applications every year and despite the significance of the day for many students, it’s actually business as usual for us. Our teams have been through many Clearing periods before and are well versed on their responsibilities and the importance of the job at hand.

We have been inviting students to apply before our deadlines (20 May for new students and 24 June for returning students) so that we can guarantee that funding is in place at the start of the academic term. If students are accepting a place at university or college through Clearing, they need to sign-in to their student finance account and let us know. Students need to change the university or college on the application as well as the course and tell us the correct tuition fee being charged for the new course.

It can take six to eight weeks to process an application, so eligible students who have applied after the deadlines, and who are applying for higher rates of maintenance loans or for additional grants, may not receive their full funding entitlement at the start of term. However, in these circumstances, SLC will award the Tuition Fee Loan and the minimum amount of Maintenance Loan before the start of the course, while we confirm household income and any other relevant details. Students will get the remainder of their maintenance and any other funding entitlement as a top up payment as soon as possible once those details are confirmed.

We are in a strong position, with more customers processed and ready to pay than ever before, and our focus now is to process the applications received as a result of Clearing as quickly as we can, ensuring that all our checks are carried out efficiently and effectively.

There is plenty of information online to answer any questions students have and we also have the online application tracker, which will keep people up to date with where we are with their application. It’s also worth mentioning that any student going through Clearing, who applied before the deadlines, should log in to their online account asap and update their course details.

On behalf of everyone at SLC, I would like to wish students all the best for A-Level results day. We hope it goes well.

The Planning Inspectorate is pleased to announce that Navees Rahman is appointed Interim Chief Executive. Navees will be seconded from his current role as Corporate Services Director at the Inspectorate. The appointment follows the news earlier this summer of Sarah Richards’ intention to stand down as Chief Executive this autumn. Navees will lead the Inspectorate, whose services are a core part of the English planning system dealing with planning appeals, national infrastructure planning applications, examinations of local plans and other planning-related and specialist casework in England.

Chair of the Planning Inspectorate Board and Non-Executive Director Trudi Elliot said:

“I am delighted that Navees has accepted the role of interim Chief Executive of the Inspectorate. In addition to his leadership experience within the Inspectorate, Navees is also bringing his experience of leadership positions across financial strategy, financial management, audit, governance and business partnering in executive agencies and central government departments to the role.

“On behalf of the Board and non-executive Directors, I am looking forward to working with Navees in his new role.”

Director of Planning at Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) Simon Gallagher said:

“I’m glad to welcome Navees into the interim role of Chief Executive while we recruit for a permanent appointment. Recruitment for the permanent post commences today. The leadership of the Planning Inspectorate is a pivotal role within English planning, particularly with the current focus on the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill progressing through parliament.”

Navees was appointed as Corporate Services Director at the Planning Inspectorate in 2016. He has been leading the professional services that support the work of the Inspectorate, developing a performance culture, investing in technology and processes, and using our diversity to help us innovate. As well as improving existing services, the directorate has been developing new capabilities in the digital and data fields to ensure that our public-facing services are digitally available and adhere to Government Digital Service standards. Our emerging capabilities in data will ensure that we can both protect and exploit the valuable data that the Inspectorate holds.

Navees said:

“I am proud of the work the Planning Inspectorate and the important role it plays in the planning system.

“As interim Chief Executive I look forward to continuing to deliver the priorities set out by the Department and the changes the Inspectorate has set out in our Strategic Plan. I believe that these will improve our customers’ experience and ensure that the Inspectorate is a thriving, challenging and inclusive place to work.”

Chief Executive job advert – closing date 28th September 2022