Instruments of interest
Marshall Scholarships Order 2017 (SI 2017/1109)
16.Marshall Scholarships are offered to American post-graduate students to study in the UK, in commemoration of assistance received by the UK under “Marshall Aid” after World War II. This Order raises the maximum number of Marshall Scholarships that may be offered in one year from 40 to up to 50, to meet anticipated growth in the available funding over the next five years. Part of this increase will be provided by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) enhancing its grant-in-aid funding from £2 million to £2.25 million per year. The Committee raised a number of questions about the policy and the FCO’s responses to this are included at Appendix 1. The Committee was surprised that the FCO plans to use taxpayers’ money to increase its sponsorship of foreign students from a rich nation at a time when there is significant concern about the effect of student loans on British students. Nor was the Committee persuaded that it was equitable to sponsor American students to do two MAs back to back when that opportunity is not available to our own students.
Police Federation (England and Wales) Regulations 2017 (SI 2017/1140)
17.These Regulations are the final phase in the implementation of the 36 recommendations for the reform of the Police Federation that were set out in the report of the Police Federation Independent Review10 chaired by Sir David Normington. The Police Federation accepted these recommendations in full at its 2014 conference and embarked on an extensive internal reform programme to implement them. These Regulations make structural and operational changes to the Police Federation and revoke and replace the Police Federation Regulations 1969 (SI 1969/1787). Key changes include a more centralised financial system, new arrangements for branch and national representation, revised election systems, and the removal of separate committees for each rank, which the Normington Review perceived to be one of the key barriers to the organisation speaking “as a united Federation with one credible voice”. The changes take effect on 31 December 2017.
Road User Charging and Workplace Parking Levy (Classes of Motor Vehicles) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 (SI 2017/1141)
18.Following the expiry of the Severn Bridge contract, the bridge will return to public ownership on 8 January 2018. At that point in time the tolls will be decreased, in part because Value Added Tax is not due on charges for crossings that are in public ownership. The Department for Transport Minister will shortly sign a Direction under provisions of the Transport Act 2000 to set the new charges (that instrument will not have a Parliamentary procedure or be subject to scrutiny). These Regulations facilitate the introduction of this charging scheme by allowing the charging categories for vehicles used under the current toll system to be continued under the new charging scheme. The Government have said that the revenue from the charge will go towards costs previously incurred by the Government relating to the crossing, and to transitional costs, but they have also undertaken that charging on the Severn Crossings will cease altogether at the end of 2018.
Childcare (Early Years Provision Free of Charge) (Extended Entitlement) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 (SI 2017/1160)
19.In our 11th report of this Session,11 we published information about the Childcare Payments (Eligibility) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 (SI 2017/1101), laid by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), to clarify certain aspects of eligibility for these payments. HMRC had told us that SI 2017/1101 addressed minor changes designed to provide greater clarity and improve the customer experience, rather than increase the take-up of the scheme. We commented that it seemed clear that many parents found it hard to understand both the details of Tax-Free Childcare accounts, and the process of applying for them, and we urged HMRC to be vigilant for ways of further improving the intelligibility of the system.
20.The Department for Education (DfE) has now laid the Childcare (Early Years Provision Free of Charge) (Extended Entitlement) (Amendment) Regulations 2017, with an Explanatory Memorandum (EM). DfE says that, following feedback from applicants for both 30 hours free childcare and Tax-Free Childcare, together with HMRC it considers that making minor technical changes to the application process “will simplify and improve the parent journey”. That is the effect of these Regulations. We welcome the Department’s readiness to make such changes, reflecting a recognition of the needs of parents who are the users of the system.
10 PFEW, Police Federation Independent Review: Final Report, January 2014: http://www.polfed.org/fedatwork/independent_review.aspx [accessed 6 November 2017]
11 11th Report, Session 2017–19 (HL Paper 43).