Teaching and Higher Education Bill [H.L.]

Teaching and Higher Education Bill [H.L.] - continued	House of Commons

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PART II

FINANCIAL PROVISION FOR HIGHER AND FURTHER EDUCATION

CHAPTER I

ENGLAND AND WALES

Student support

New arrangements for giving financial support to students.

19. - (1) Regulations shall make provision authorising or requiring the Secretary of State to make grants or loans, for any prescribed purposes, to eligible students in connection with their attending-

(a) higher education courses, or

(b) further education courses,

of any prescribed description.

(2) Regulations under this section may, in particular, make provision-

(a) for determining whether a person is an eligible student in relation to any grant or loan available under this section;

(b) prescribing, in relation to any such grant or loan and an academic year, the maximum amount available to any person for any prescribed purpose for that year;

(c) where the amount of any such grant or loan may vary to any extent according to a person's circumstances, for determining the amount available to him;

(d) prescribing categories of attendance on higher education courses or further education courses which are to qualify for any purposes of the regulations;

(e) for any grant under this section to be made available on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by, or determined by the Secretary of State under, the regulations, including terms and conditions requiring repayments to be made in circumstances so prescribed or determined;

(f) requiring the making of payments in respect of any such grant to be suspended or terminated in any such circumstances;

(g) for any loan under this section to be made available on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by, or determined by the Secretary of State under, the regulations;

(h) authorising grants in respect of fees payable in connection with attendance on courses to be paid directly to institutions charging the fees.

(3) The provision which may be made by virtue of subsection (2)(g) in relation to loans under this section includes provision-

(a) for such loans to bear compound interest at such rates, and calculated in such manner, as may be prescribed from time to time;

(b) for such loans to be repaid in such manner, at such times, and to such person or body as may be prescribed from time to time;

(d) with respect to sums which a borrower receives, or is entitled to receive, under such a loan after the commencement of his bankruptcy or the date of the sequestration of his estate.

(4) In relation to loans under this section-

(a) the rates prescribed by regulations made in pursuance of subsection (3)(a) shall be no higher than those which the Secretary of State is satisfied are required to maintain the value in real terms of the outstanding amounts of such loans; and

(b) such regulations may make provision, for the purpose of calculating the interest to be borne by such loans, for repayments by borrowers to be treated as having been made or received on such date or dates as may be prescribed by the regulations.

(5) Regulations under this section may also make such provision as the Secretary of State considers necessary or expedient in connection with the recovery of amounts due from borrowers under loans under this section, including provision for-

(a) imposing on employers, any government department, or (as the case may be) such other persons or bodies as may be prescribed, requirements with respect to-

(i) the making of deductions in respect of amounts so due (or, in any prescribed circumstances, amounts assessed in accordance with the regulations to be so due) from remuneration payable to borrowers,

(ii) the collection by other means of such amounts,

(iii) the transmission of amounts so deducted or collected to the Secretary of State in accordance with directions given by him;

(b) imposing on employers requirements with respect to the keeping and production of records for such purposes as may be prescribed;

(i) the provision of such information, and

(ii) the production of such documents and records,

relating to their income as may be prescribed;

(d) enabling the Secretary of State to require the reimbursement by borrowers of costs or expenses of any prescribed description incurred by him in connection with the recovery of unpaid amounts;

(e) applying or extending with or without modification, for purposes connected with the recovery of amounts under regulations made by virtue of this subsection, any of the provisions of the Income Tax Acts or of regulations under section 203 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 (PAYE).

(6) The Secretary of State shall ensure that, in any regulations made under this section in relation to any eligible student for any prescribed purpose for any academic year -

(a) the maximum amount of any loan made available to that student is no greater than half the prescribed cost of maintenance for such a student for that purpose for that year, and

(b) provision continues to be made for maintenance grants to be payable to such a student, subject to-

(i) a maximum amount of half the prescribed cost of maintenance, and

(ii) assessment of any contributions applicable in his case.

(7) Regulations under this section shall ensure that any arrangements for the payment of grant in respect of tuition fees for the fourth or any subsequent year of study at a higher education institution in England or Wales apply equally to a student whose parental home or normal place of residence for purposes other than attendance at that institution is in Scotland or Northern Ireland as they do to a student whose parental home or normal place of residence for purposes other than attendance at that institution is in England or Wales.

(8) Where regulations under this section prescribe by virtue of subsection (2)(b) the maximum amount of any grant available for an academic year in respect of fees payable in connection with attendance on a higher education course provided by a publicly-funded institution, no regulations increasing that amount shall be made under this section unless-

(a) the Secretary of State is satisfied that the increase is no greater than is required to maintain the value of such grants in real terms, or

(b) a draft of the regulations has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.

(9) For the purposes of subsection (4)(a) or (8)(a) the Secretary of State shall have regard to such index of prices as may be specified in, or determined in accordance with, regulations under this section.

(10) If the Secretary of State so determines, any function exercisable by him by virtue of regulations under this section shall, to such extent as is specified in his determination, be exercisable instead by such person or body as is so specified.

(11) A person or body by whom any function is for the time being exercisable to any extent by virtue of subsection (10) shall comply with any directions given by the Secretary of State as to the exercise of that function.

Transitional arrangements.

20. - (1) Regulations under section 19 shall make such transitional provision and savings in connection with the repeal by this Act of any relevant enactment as the Secretary of State considers necessary or expedient.

(2) In this section "relevant enactment" means any enactment contained in-

(a) the Education Act 1962,

(b) section 3 of the Education Act 1973, or

(3) An order under section 32(4) which brings into force the repeal by this Act of any relevant enactment may-

(a) make provision for, and in connection with, the transfer-

(i) to the Secretary of State, or

(ii) to such other person or body as is specified in the order,

of rights and liabilities arising under or by virtue of that enactment, including provision imposing on local education authorities requirements with respect to the transfer and preservation of records;

(b) make provision in relation to persons attending courses at publicly-funded institutions which is different from that made in relation to persons attending courses at other institutions.

Student fees

Imposition of conditions as to fees at further or higher education institutions.

21. - (1) The power of the Secretary of State to impose conditions under section 7(1) of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 ("the 1992 Act") in relation to grants paid to-

(a) the Further Education Funding Council for England, or

(b) the Further Education Funding Council for Wales,

shall include power to impose a condition requiring the Council to whom he is making any such grant to impose a condition under subsection (2) below in relation to any grants, loans or other payments made by the Council under section 5 of that Act to the governing body of a relevant institution.

(2) A condition under this subsection shall require the governing body of any such institution to secure that no fees are payable to the institution by any specified class of persons in respect of any specified matters in connection with their attending courses of any specified description.

(3) The power of the Secretary of State to impose conditions under section 68(1) of the 1992 Act in relation to grants paid to-

(a) the Higher Education Funding Council for England, or

(b) the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales,

shall include power to impose a condition requiring the Council to whom he is making any such grant to impose a condition under subsection (4) below in relation to any grants, loans or other payments made by the Council under section 65 of that Act to the governing body of a relevant institution.

(4) A condition under this subsection shall require the governing body of any such institution to secure that the fees payable to the institution by any prescribed class of persons in connection with their attending courses of any prescribed description are equal to the prescribed amount.

(5) In subsection (4) "the prescribed amount", in relation to any such class of persons attending courses of any such description, means such amount as may be prescribed for the time being by virtue of section 19(2)(b) as the maximum amount of any grant available for an academic year in respect of fees payable by such persons in connection with their attending such courses.

(6) A condition under subsection (2) or (4) shall impose, in the event of a failure by the governing body to comply with the requirement specified in that subsection, such further financial requirements on that body as may be specified, which may include requirements relating to the repayment, with or without interest, of the whole or part of any sums received by them in respect of the grant, loan or other payment in question.

(7) No condition under subsection (4) shall apply in relation to any fees which are payable, in accordance with regulations under section 1 of the Education (Fees and Awards) Act 1983 (fees at universities and further education establishments), by students other than those falling within any class of persons prescribed by such regulations for the purposes of subsection (1) or (2) of that section (persons connected with the United Kingdom, etc.).

(8) The Secretary of State shall not exercise the power to prescribe descriptions of courses under subsection (4) in such a way as to discriminate-

(a) in relation to courses of initial teacher training, between different courses on the basis of the subjects in which such training is given, or

(b) in relation to other courses, between different courses at the same or a comparable level on the basis of the areas of study or research to which they relate.

(9) In this section-

"course", where it appears in subsection (4) or (5), does not include any part-time course or any postgraduate course other than a course of initial teacher training;

"relevant institution" means a specified institution or an institution of a specified class; and

"specified" means specified by the Secretary of State in a condition imposed by him under subsection (1) or (3), as the case may be;

and any reference to fees payable to an institution includes a reference to fees payable to any college, school, hall or other institution connected with the institution.

(10) Nothing in the 1992 Act, so far as it imposes any prohibition or other requirement in relation to the imposition of conditions by the Secretary of State or by any of the Councils mentioned in subsection (1) or (3) shall apply to-

(a) any condition under subsection (1) or (3) imposed by the Secretary of State; or

(b) any condition under subsection (2) or (4) imposed by any of those Councils.

Higher education funding

Expenditure eligible for funding.

22. Section 65 of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 (administration of funds by Higher Education Funding Councils), shall have effect, and be deemed always to have had effect, with the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (3)-

"(3A) In the application of subsection (3) above to any grants, loans or other payments by a Council, the reference to expenditure incurred or to be incurred by the governing body of a higher education institution as mentioned in paragraph (a) of that subsection includes a reference to expenditure incurred or to be incurred by any connected institution to which the governing body propose, with the consent of the Council, to pay the whole or part of any such grants, loans or other payments.

(3B) In subsection (3A) "connected institution", in relation to a higher education institution, means any college, school, hall or other institution which the Council in question are satisfied has a sufficient connection with that institution for the purposes of that subsection."

Supplementary

Interpretation of Chapter I.

23. - (1) In this Chapter-

"fees", in relation to attendance on a course, means fees in respect of, or otherwise in connection with, attendance on the course, including admission, registration, tuition and graduation fees but excluding-

(a) fees payable otherwise than to the institution providing the course in respect of the awarding or accreditation of any qualification,

(b) fees payable for board or lodging,

(d) such other fees as may be prescribed;

"further education course" and "higher education course" have the meaning given by regulations under section 19;

"publicly-funded institution" means-

(a) any university or other institution receiving grants under section 5 or 65 of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, or under section 5 of the Education Act 1994, any institution maintained by a local education authority in exercise of their further and higher education functions, any institution receiving a recurrent grant towards its costs from a further education funding council or any institution receiving a recurrent grant towards its costs under regulations made under section 485 of the Education Act 1996;

(b) any institution within the higher education sector for the purposes of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992, any college of further education within the meaning of section 36(1) of that Act or any central institution within the meaning of section 135(1) of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980;

(c) the Queen's University of Belfast, the University of Ulster, a college of education in Northern Ireland within the meaning of Article 2(2) of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 or any institution providing in Northern Ireland further education as defined in Article 3 of the Further Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1997.

(2) Regulations under section 19 may provide for courses provided wholly or partly outside the United Kingdom to be further education courses or (as the case may be) higher education courses for the purposes of this Chapter.

Prepared 12 March 1998