SLC Were Warned About Lamey

As loyal readers know, Steve Lamey (ex CIO of HMRC) has featured a few times on this site.

Anyhoo, he is back in the news again following his less than happy time at the infamous Student Loans Company.

The FT reports that civil servants had in fact warned ministers against appointing Lamey as chief executive of the Student Loans Company (he was suspended over misconduct allegations after just over a year in the role).

Lamey was appointed to the SLC in June 2016, when the company was supervised by the business department. Monitoring passed in July 2016 to the Department for Education. He was suspended in July 2017 over a series of allegations, including some brought to the company’s attention by whistleblowers,.

The claims included allegations of:

- bullying behaviour (a prerequisite for management in HMRC, according to many staff who comment on this site),

-the taking out of a lease on a new building without proper approval,

-and unauthorised changes to the SLC’s governance.

Lamey, who denies any wrongdoing, was dismissed in November 2017.

It seems that, according to an NAO report (Investigation into oversight of the Student Loans Company’s governance, and management of its former chief executive) published today, Lamey’s references from HMRC “raised questions about Mr Lamey’s ability to build the right relationships, trust and rapport”.

Business department officials said it would be “too risky” to appoint him and recommended re-running the process. However, an unnamed special adviser at the business department pointed out that Lamey’s 2011-12 performance review at HMRC called him a “top performer”.

The adviser also questioned the fairness of the HMRC references, and raised concerns about the cost of starting a new recruitment process.

Hence warnings about him were ignored!

He was eventually dismissed for gross misconduct in public office over a series of allegations, including breaches of the Nolan principles on standards in public life, guidance on the management of public money and the company’s code of conduct.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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Meanwhile Over at The Student Loans Company - MELTDOWN!

 

Meanwhile, over at The Student Loans Company (suspended CEO being none other than Steve Lamey ex HMRC CEO & CIO)

The BBC reprost that there has been a call for an urgent inquiry into problems at the Student Loans Company which led to the suspension of its chief executive.

"Shadow Universities Minister Gordon Marsden said the firm was near "meltdown" and urged the Universities Minister to address the problems.

The Department for Education suspended Steve Lamey in July without saying why.

A DfE spokesman defended the student loans system and said Jo Johnson would respond in due course.

In early July, a statement from the DfE said: "The Student Loans Company, in consultation with the Department for Education, took the decision to suspend the chief executive, pending an investigation into concerns which have been raised.

"The suspension is a neutral act and does not imply wrongdoing. 

"As the matters leading to suspension are now subject to an independent investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time."

Mr Marsden wrote to Mr Johnson, asking him to clarify the details around the suspension and the nature of the associated investigation.

He told the BBC:

"Whilst the full details have yet to become clear, the Student Loans Company appears to be approaching a situation of meltdown.

There needs to be an urgent, substantial inquiry into all aspects of the way they operate with HMRC.

This worrying situation has been compounded by an ongoing stream of accounts over the past few months in the media, and based on numerous individual stories appearing, of the inadequacies of the Student Loans Company to properly administer student loans and specifically repayments."

Well then, HMRC keep churning out these "high-flyers"!

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"