Education (Fees and Awards) Regulations 1997

Year1997

1997 No. 1972

EDUCATION, ENGLAND AND WALES

The Education (Fees and Awards) Regulations 1997

Made 11th August 1997

Laid before Parliament 11th August 1997

Coming into force 1st September 1997

The Secretary of State for Education and Employment, in exercise of the powers conferred on the Secretary of State by sections 1 and 2 of the Education (Fees and Awards) Act 19831, hereby makes the following Regulations:

S-1 Citation, operation and extent

Citation, operation and extent

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Education (Fees and Awards) Regulations 1997 and shall come into force on 1st September 1997.

(2) These Regulations do not extend to Scotland.

S-2 Interpretation

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“award” means a fees award or a maintenance award or both as the context may require;

“education” includes post-graduate research otherwise than in the course of employment;

“education authority” means a local education authority;

“employment” means full-time employment or part-time employment which, in a normal week, involves a significant number of hours of work and “employed” shall be construed accordingly, and for the purposes hereof the references to employment include references to the holding of any office and to any occupation for gain;

“EEA Agreement” means the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2nd May 19922as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17th March 19933;

“EEA migrant worker” has the meaning assigned to it in paragraph (6);

“European Economic Area” means the area comprised by the member States of the European Community (including the United Kingdom) as constituted from time to time and, subject to the conditions laid down in the EEA Agreement, by the Republic of Iceland, the Kingdom of Norway and the Principality of Liechtenstein;

“fees” includes charges however described;

“fees award” means an award in respect only of any fees payable by the person other than any element of those fees representing or attributable to charges for his maintenance;

“the Islands” means the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man;

“maintenance award” means any award other than a fees award;

“national of a member State of the European Community” means a person who is a national for the purposes of the Community Treaties of any member State of the European Community (including the United Kingdom) as constituted from time to time;

“refugee” means a person who is recognised by Her Majesty’s Government as a refugee within the meaning of the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees done at Geneva on 28th July 19514as extended by the Protocol thereto which entered into force on 4th October 19675and any reference to the child of a refugee includes a reference to a person adopted in pursuance of adoption proceedings and a step-child;

“relevant date” has the meaning assigned to it in regulation 4, 5, 6 or 7.

(2) For the purposes of these Regulations an area which—

(a)

(a) was not part of the area comprised by the member States of the European Community or by the European Economic Area, but

(b)

(b) at any time before or after these Regulations come into force has become part of one or other or both of those areas

shall be considered to have always been part of the European Economic Area.

(3) Notwithstanding section 11 of the Interpretation Act 19786section 3(2) of the Education (Fees and Awards) Act 1983 (references to the United Kingdom to include references to the Islands) shall not apply for the purposes of the interpretation of these Regulations.

(4) For the purposes of these Regulations a person shall be treated as ordinarily resident in England, England and Wales, Great Britain, the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom and Islands or the European Economic Area, if he would have been so resident at the relevant time but for the fact that he, his spouse, his parent, guardian, any other person having parental responsibility for him, or any person having care of him while he is a child, is or was temporarily employed outside the area in question.

(5) For the purposes of regulations 6 and 7 a person shall be treated as ordinarily resident in the areas referred to in paragraph (4) if he would have been so resident at the relevant time but for the fact that he or his spouse was temporarily receiving full-time education outside the area in question.

(6) In these Regulations a reference to an EEA migrant worker is a reference to a person who is a national of a member State of the European Economic Area who has taken up an activity as an employed person in the United Kingdom—

(a)

(a) under Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1612/68on freedom of movement for workers within the Community, as extended by the EEA Agreement7; or

(b)

(b) in circumstances were as a national of the United Kingdom he has an enforceable Community right to be treated no less favourably than a national of another member State in relation to matters which are the subject of the above mentioned Council Regulation.

(7) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, a reference to a regulation or Schedule is a reference to a regulation of these Regulations or to a Schedule thereto, a reference in a regulation or Schedule to a paragraph is a reference to a paragraph of that regulation or Schedule and a reference in a paragraph to a sub-paragraph is a reference to a sub-paragraph of that paragraph.

S-3 Lawful acts

Lawful acts

3.—(1) Nothing in these Regulations shall be construed as rendering unlawful any discrimination arising from the remission in whole or in part of any fee (on grounds of financial hardship or otherwise) if it would have been lawful had these Regulations not been made.

(2) Nothing in these Regulations shall be construed as rendering unlawful any discrimination arising from any rule of eligibility for an award if it would have been lawful had these Regulations not been made.

S-4 Fee charging

Fee charging

4.—(1) It shall be lawful for the institutions referred to in paragraph (2) to charge higher fees of the type mentioned in paragraph (3) in the case of a person who is not mentioned in the Schedule than in the case of a person who is so mentioned.

(2) The institutions referred to in paragraph (1) are institutions—

(a)

(a) within the higher education sector within the meaning of section 91(5) of the Further and Higher Education Act 19928, including a constituent college, school or hall of such an institution;

(b)

(b) within the further education sector within the meaning of section 91(3) of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992;

(c)

(c) maintained by an education authority; and

(d)

(d) eligible for funding under Part I of the Education Act 19949.

(3) The fees referred to in paragraph (1) are:

(a)

(a) any fees for admission, registration or matriculation (including matriculation exemption);

(b)

(b) any sessional or tuition fees;

(c)

(c) any composition fee; and

(d)

(d) any graduation fee

in each case excluding any element thereof representing or attributable to such fees as are mentioned in paragraph (4).

(4) The fees referred to in paragraph (3) are:

(a)

(a) college fees or dues at the University of Oxford, at the University of Cambridge or at St Chad’s, St John’s or Ushaw College of the University of Durham;

(b)

(b) any fees charged by an external body in respect of examinations or validation of a course or otherwise charged by such a body whose requirements must (for the purposes of the course) be met; and

(c)

(c) charges for board and lodging.

(5) For the purposes of this regulation fees shall be considered to be charged on the last date or dates on which they are required to be paid by the person, and not on the date or dates on which he enters an agreement to pay them, or on which he receives an account in respect of them.

(6) For the purposes of the application of this regulation a reference in the Schedule to “relevant date” is a reference to the 1st September, 1st January or 1st April closest to the beginning of the first term of the person’s course.

S-5 Awards by education authorities

Awards by education authorities

5.—(1) It shall be lawful for an education authority to adopt rules of eligibility for awards under section 1(6) or 2 of the Education Act 196210which confine eligibility—

(a)

(a) in the case of fees awards to the persons mentioned in paragraphs 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the Schedule; and

(b)

(b) in the case of maintenance awards to the persons mentioned in paragraphs 1, 2, 6, 7 and 8 of the Schedule.

(2) It shall also be lawful for an education authority to adopt rules of eligibility which confine eligibility to the persons who would be mentioned in paragraph (1) if the references to paragraph 2 of the Schedule were deleted, or if regulation 2(4) did not apply to the interpretation of the Schedule.

(3) For the purposes of the application of this regulation a reference in the Schedule to “relevant date” is a reference to the 1st September, 1st January or 1st April closest to the beginning of the first term of the person’s course.

S-6 Awards by research councils and others

Awards by research councils and others

6.—(1) It shall be lawful for a body or institution mentioned in paragraph (3) to adopt rules of eligibility for awards (however described) in connection with courses of education or training in connection with the undertaking of research which confine eligibility—

(a)

(a) in the case of fees awards to—

(i) the persons mentioned in paragraphs 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the Schedule, or

(ii) the persons who would be mentioned in sub-paragraph (i) if references to the United Kingdom and Islands in paragraph 9 of the Schedule were references to Great Britain, or

(iii) the persons mentioned in sub-paragraph (i) excepting persons mentioned in paragraph 1 of the Schedule who are not ordinarily resident in Great Britain, in England and Wales or in England, as the maker of the awards has determined, on the relevant date, or who cannot...

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