The company which runs the Student Loans Company for the UK Government has today announced that it plans to slash its Glasgow operations and lay off 200 jobs in Glasgow and Hillington.

Work is also to be transferred to Darlington in the North East of England and has led to fears that this could just be the beginning of a gradual erosion of The Company's presence in Glasgow; which currently employs over 1000 people in the City and Hillington.

The company has stated that it is now entering a 90 day consultation period; however many believe that decisions have already been taken and that these cuts will be forced through regardless of the opinion of the staff and the union.

Commenting on the announcement Sandra White MSP for Glasgow said: "I hope that all parties will unite to fight these job cuts which will affect families across Glasgow; at a time when the UK Government should be supporting Scotland and creating jobs it beggars belief that their company is proposing such a move.

"At the recent Jobs summit in Glasgow we had Gordon Brown telling us that a Labour Government would create an economy where there were jobs for all yet as we know actions speak louder than words.

"Like the Glasgow Passport Office cuts we are seeing further evidence of Scotland being asset stripped by a Labour Government which increasingly takes Scottish voters for granted and sees Scotland as an irrelevance.

"It's more interested in shoring up its vote in England rather than standing up for Scotland's future and I urge the company to rethink these ill thought out plans."

Notes:

The Student Loans Company (SLC) was founded in 1990 and currently employ a total of 1894 members of staff, working from four business centres:

• Glasgow - head office, employing 1212 members of staff in customer contact centre, collections department, information and communications technology directorate and corporate offices.
• Hillington, Glasgow - our printing , scanning and mailing centre in Hillington employs 99 staff. ?       Colwyn Bay, Wales - 30 employees work in the bi-lingual contact centre here on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government.
• Darlington - Student Finance England, is based in Darlington, employing 525 permanent staff and dealing with customer enquiries, processing applications and administering payments.

SLC processes and administers financial assistance for undergraduates at universities. SLC provide loans and non repayable grants to students who successfully secure a place at university or college and tuition fee loans are paid directly to the university.

SLC also:

• Pay grants and loans to eligible students
• Pay tuition fees to universities and colleges in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
  
• Process application forms for new and some returning students in England
• Work with HMRC to collect payments for income contingent loans
  
• Manage the direct collection of payments for mortgage style loans