Explanatory note

These Regulations make provision for the payment by the Secretary of State to local education authorities of grants to encourage and facilitate the training of teachers, youth and community workers, educational psychologists, education authority inspectors and education advisers employed by an authority. The kind of training eligible for grant is set out in Regulation 4.

The expenditure on which grant is payable includes fees and charges payable in respect of eligible training, the costs of providing the eligible training and the remuneration of necessary staff to replace the trainee (Regulation 5). It includes, in addition to expenditure incurred by the authority itself, expenditure incurred by governors of aided schools and by persons who maintain further education establishments assisted by the authority and by persons employing youth and community workers, where such expenditure is reimbursed by the authority.

Authorities wishing to claim grant are required to submit proposals for expenditure on eligible training in such form and containing such particulars (including particulars of training in a national priority area) as the Secretary of State may determine. “National priority area” is defined in Regulation 2(1) to mean eligible training of a kind approved by the Secretary of State for the purpose of the Regulations as training eligible for grant at the higher rate. The Secretary of State will then notify authorities of the maximum level of expenditure eligible for grant at the higher rate of 70% in each national priority area and the maximum level of expenditure that will be eligible for grant at the lower rate of 50%. Provision is made for varying the maximum levels and for payment of grant at the higher rate on expenditure in a national priority area in excess of the maximum notified for that area where less expenditure has been incurred on another area. (Regulations 6 to 9).

Claims for grant are to be made quarterly and the manner of making claims and the other requirements relating thereto are set out in Regulation 10. Authorities are required to furnish the Secretary of State with such further information as he may determine (Regulation 11).

The Secretary of State may determine further conditions on the fulfilment of which the payment of grant shall be dependent. He may also determine further requests with which authorities to whom grant has been paid must comply (Regulation 12).

“Youth and community worker” is defined by section 50(4) of the Education (No. 2) Act 1986 as meaning a person who is employed (whether or not by a local education authority) in such category of employment connected with leisure-time facilities as may be prescribed by regulations. Regulation 3 prescribes for this purpose all categories of employment connected with such facilities except those of a solely administrative, secretarial, clerical or manual nature. “Leisure-time facilities” is defined in the 1986 Act as meaning only those which local education authorities are, by virtue of a scheme of further education or the requirements of section 53(1) of the Education Act 1944, under a duty to provide.

The Education (Grants for Teacher Training) (No. 2) Regulations 1985 are revoked, but grant may still be paid where training to which those Regulations applied has been carried out before 31st March 1987.