Explanatory note
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
Section 23 of the Higher Education Act 2004 requires the Secretary of State to impose a condition on grants to the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the Training and Development Agency for Schools, requiring them to impose a condition on financial support given to the governing body of a relevant institution. This condition requires the governing body to secure that the qualifying fees payable in respect of any qualifying course by a qualifying person do not exceed the basic or higher fee amounts applicable to that course. The fee amounts are prescribed by the Student Fees (Amounts) (England) Regulations 2004 (S.I. 2004/1932), as amended by the Student Fees (Amounts) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/2382.
These Regulations revoke previous Regulations. They prescribe the qualifying courses and class of qualifying persons for the purposes of the Higher Education Act 2004. The qualifying courses prescribed by regulation 4 are those courses which are designated under section 22 of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 and which are provided by institutions in England.
The class of qualifying persons prescribed in regulation 5 are those persons who, on the first day of the relevant academic year, fall within the Schedule, save for those persons who are not eligible for student support under the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/176) by reason of certain paragraphs of regulation 5 of those Regulations, or who already have an honours degree from a publicly funded institution. There is an exception in respect of a previous honours degree for a person undertaking a course of initial teacher training or who has obtained the honours degree only as part of a single course they are currently undertaking.
Regulation 6 re-enacts provision for transitional cases made in the revoked Education (Qualifying Courses and Persons) Regulations 2006.
A full regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as it has no impact on the costs of business.