Explanatory note

These Regulations are the first made under section 45 of the Higher Education Act 2004.

Section 45 gives the Secretary of State the power to make regulations providing for a student support authority to supply student support information of a prescribed description to a prescribed person for a prescribed purpose.

A “student support authority” includes: the Secretary of State, a local authority or governing body to whom student support functions have been transferred under section 23(1) of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 and a person to whom student support functions have been delegated under section 23(4) of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998.

These regulations enable the Secretary of State, local authorities to whom student support functions have been transferred and the Student Loans Company (being a person to whom functions have been delegated under section 23(4) of the 1998 Act) to supply information provided in connection with an application for student support either by the student himself or his sponsors to governing bodies of institutions providing courses which are designated for the purposes of the student support scheme. The Regulations also enable these student support authorities to supply to governing bodies information which is derived from the application, such as whether the student is an eligible student within the meaning of the student support scheme or the amount of student support payable to the student under that scheme.

This information may only be supplied for the purpose of assisting governing bodies to determine whether a student who has applied for student support is eligible for a bursary (or other form of financial assistance) offered by the relevant institution and the amount of the bursary or other financial assistance payable to that student and also, if relevant, to make the necessary payment to the student.

No information may be supplied under these Regulations without, in the case of information provided by the applicant or derived from the application, the applicant’s consent and, in the case of information provided by the sponsor, the sponsor’s consent.

A full regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as it has no impact on the costs of business.