Part of 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education – in the Senedd at 2:15 pm on 17 October 2018.
Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. I've received a number of complaints from constituents about their experience of making Student Finance Wales applications. Correspondence with the Student Loans Company, which provides the Student Finance Wales service, has not provided some of my constituents with the outcomes and explanations they sought. A repeated concern is the observation that staff had not had sufficient training to equip them to answer specific questions, and that more senior management aren't available on hand to assist. This can lead to delays in processing applications, causing great distress to constituents, who have clear and obvious deadlines for university. Can the Cabinet Secretary outline what discussions have taken place with the Student Loans Company to ensure that Student Finance Wales provides the best possible service?