{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/lifelong-learning-fee-limits-regulations-2026/note",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/lifelong-learning-fee-limits-regulations-2026/note.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/2026/856",
  "legislation_title": "The Lifelong Learning (Fee Limits) Regulations 2026",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/lifelong-learning-fee-limits-regulations-2026",
  "path": "note",
  "kind": "note",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Explanatory note",
  "text": "(This note is not part of the Regulations)\nThese Regulations make provision for a fee limit condition and for determining tuition fee limits in relation to a new system of funding for “lifelong learning”. The Regulations need to be read together with section 10 of, and Schedule 2 to, the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 (c. 29) (“the 2017 Act”); section 10 concerns the requirement for a mandatory fee limit condition for certain higher education providers, and Schedule 2 contains provisions on determining the amount of the fee limit in connection with a qualifying course.\nPart 1 of these Regulations (comprising regulations 1 to 3) contains introductory provisions. The Regulations apply in relation to England. Regulation 2 limits the application of pre-existing subordinate legislation relating to fee limits, in order to accommodate the introduction of the new system of funding for lifelong learning. Regulation 3 makes provision for definitions used throughout the Regulations.\nPart 2 (comprising regulations 4 to 7) replicates the Higher Education (Fee Limit Condition) (England) Regulations 2017 (S.I. 2017/1189), with amendments to accommodate the setting of fee limits for the new system of lifelong learning that is introduced by the Regulations. Regulations 4, 5 and 7 respectively prescribe: registered higher education providers of a certain description for the purposes of section 10(1) of the 2017 Act; the meaning of “qualifying person” for the purposes of section 10(4) of the 2017 Act; and the meaning of “qualifying course” for the purposes of section 10(6) of the 2017 Act.\nThe effect of Part 2 of the Regulations is that the fee limits provided for in these Regulations apply to English higher education providers (meaning providers of higher education courses whose activities are carried on, or principally carried on, in England) who are in the “approved (fee cap)” part of the register established and maintained under section 3 of the 2017 Act, in respect of all courses that are designated for lifelong learning student support under section 22 of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 (c. 30) (“the 1998 Act”). Also, the fee limits provided for in these Regulations apply to “qualifying persons”, meaning persons with a particular right to reside in the United Kingdom as provided for in regulation 5 and Schedule 1 (qualifying persons), when undertaking a “qualifying course”.\nRegulation 6 makes provision about the effect of certain events occurring during a course year on whether a person is a qualifying person.\nBy virtue of regulation 7, a qualifying course is a course that is designated for lifelong learning student support under section 22 of the 1998 Act, that is delivered by an English higher education provider of a description prescribed by regulation 4, and that begins on or after 1st January 2027.\nPart 3 (comprising regulations 8 to 18) replicates elements of the Higher Education (Fee Limits and Fee Limit Condition) (England) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/903), with amendments needed for lifelong learning and the new credit-based approach.\nBy virtue of regulation 8, the credit-based method is the method to be used to for determining the fee limit for a course year of a qualifying course. A “credit” is defined in paragraph 1A(1) of Schedule 2 to the 2017 Act as being “used to signify the total amount of learning that a student would ordinarily be expected to spend in order to complete a particular course or part of a course”.\nRegulation 9 provides for the circumstances in which a course year is to be regarded as having credits attached to it, by setting out a number of criteria to be met. These include the provider notifying the Secretary of State of the number of credits to be regarded as attached to the course year that the provider intends to charge for, and, if the course year contains credit-differentiated activity, the number of credits to be regarded as attached to each activity that the provider intends to charge for.\nRegulation 10 makes provision regarding foundation year study and introduces Schedule 2, which sets out the subject codes that are relevant to whether a foundation year is to be charged as “lower fee foundation year” study.\nRegulation 11 makes provision for “credit-differentiated activities”, which enables the setting of different fee limits for different types of learning activity.\nRegulations 12 and 13 make provision about a “per-course amount” (meaning the limit on the number of credits in a course as a whole) and a “per-year amount” (meaning the limit on the number of credits in a course year) respectively. These concepts are then used in determining the “maximum number of credits” in a course year where credits are attached (regulation 14) and the “default number of credits” in a course year where credits are not attached (regulation 15). Regulation 12 introduces Schedule 3, which sets out per-course amounts in respect of normal taught study (which varies for different higher education courses).\nRegulations 16 and 17 make provision for “top-up courses” and “transfer cases” respectively, to allow for the determination of fee limits in two different circumstances where a student has prior learning that is relevant to a course that they wish to undertake (to the satisfaction of the provider of that course).\nRegulation 18 makes provision regarding “per-credit limits”, which allow for the fees for different activities to be set according to the value of a credit (which varies according to the type of activity in a course year).\nIn Part 4, regulation 19 makes a consequential amendment to the Higher Education (Fee Limit Condition) (England) Regulations 2017. The effect of this provision is that courses which are designated for the purposes of section 22 of the 1998 Act in relation to the new system of funding for lifelong learning will not be designated courses for the purposes of section 22 of the 1998 Act in relation to the system of funding that pre-dates the system of funding for lifelong learning.\nA full impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business, the voluntary sector and the public sector has been produced. An Explanatory Memorandum has also been produced. These are available alongside this instrument at www.legislation.gov.uk.",
  "extent": "E+W",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/856/note",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-28T20:57:14.241569+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}