Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations 1997
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1997/431 |
| Year | 1997 |
1997 No. 431
EDUCATION, ENGLAND AND WALES
The Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations 1997
Made 19th February 1997
Laid before Parliament 27th February 1997
Coming into force 1st September 1997
The Secretary of State for Education and Employment, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 1 and 4(2) of, and paragraphs 3 and 4 of Schedule 1 to, the Education Act 19621, and by sections 3(1) and (3) of the Education Act 19732hereby makes the following Regulations:—
PART I
GENERAL
Citation and commencement
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations 1997 and shall come into operation on 1st September 1997.
Definitions
2. In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
“academic authority” means, in relation to an institution, the governing body, or other body having the functions of a governing body and includes a person acting with the authority of that body;
“authority” means a local education authority;
“award” includes either a fees only award or a full award bestowed under these Regulations and any award bestowed under previous Awards Regulations;
“British Islands” means the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man;
“Certificate in Education” includes a Teacher’s Certificate;
“course”, “designated course”, “sandwich course” and other qualified references to courses have the meanings respectively assigned to them by regulation 4;
“degree” means a degree awarded by a university, institution of higher education in the United Kingdom or the Council for National Academic Awards;
“dependent” means wholly or mainly financially dependent;
“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 19923as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17th March 19934;
“EEA migrant worker”has the meaning assigned to it in regulation 5;
“European Community” means the area comprised by the member states of the European Community (including the United Kingdom) as constituted from time to time;
“European Economic Area” means the European Community and subject to the conditions laid down in the EEA Agreement the area comprised by the Republic of Iceland, the Kingdom of Norway, and the Principality of Liechtenstein;
“European student” means a person who is a national of a member state of the European Community or the child of such a national towhom one or more of the exceptions relating to residence in the British Islands or settlement in the United Kingdom found in regulation 13(1) applies;
“fees only award” means an award bestowed only in respect of fees described in Schedule 1;
“full award” means an award bestowed in respect of both fees described in Schedule 1 and a maintenance grant;
“highest-cost country” means Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Taiwan;
“higher-cost country” means Austria, Belgium, France(excluding Départements d`Outre Mer), the Federal Republic of Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, the Republic of Korea, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and countries of the former Soviet Union;
“high-cost country” means Australia, Canada, Greece, Indonesia, the Republic of Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, … Spain and the United States of America;
“independent student” has the meaning assigned to it by regulation 3;
“institution” means an educational institution in the United Kingdom providing further or higher education or both, or providing a course which qualifies for funding under Part I of the Education Act 19945;
“maintenance grant” has the meaning assigned to it by regulation 17;
“overseas institution” means an educational institution in a country outside the United Kingdom providing further or higher education or both;
“periods of experience”, “prescribed proportion” and “sandwich year”, in relation to a sandwich course, have the meanings respectively assigned to them by paragraph 1 of Schedule 5;
“previous Awards Regulations” means Regulations made under section 1 of the Education Act 1962 and revoked either by regulation 6 or before the coming into force of these Regulations;
“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 19516as extended by the Protocol thereto which entered into force on 4th October 19677and any reference to the child of a refugee includes a reference to a person adopted in pursuance of adoption proceedings and a step-child;
“statutory award” means any award bestowed or grant paid by virtue of the Education Act 1962 or any comparable award, grant or other payment made in respect of attendance at a course which is paid out of moneys provided by Parliament;
“student” means a person upon whom an award has been bestowed under these Regulations or previous Awards Regulations;
“university” means a university in the United Kingdom and includes a university college and a constituent college, school or hall of a university;
“year”, in relation to a course, means the period of twelve months beginning on 1st January, 1st April, 1st July or 1st September according as the academic year of the course in question begins in the winter, the spring, the summer or the autumn respectively; and references to the first or the final year of a designated course shall be construed accordingly.
References to independent students
3.—(1) In these Regulations “independent student” means a student who—
(a)
(a) has attained the age of 25 years before the beginning of the year for which payments in pursuance of his award fall to be made; or
(b)
(b) has supported himself out of his earnings for periods before the first year of his course aggregating not less than three years; or
(c)
(c) has been married for at least two years before the beginning of the year for which payments in pursuance of his award fall to be made whether or not the marriage is still subsisting; or
(d)
(d) has no parent living;or
(e)
(e)is irreconcilably estranged from his parents.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b) a student shall be treated as having supported himself out of his earnings for any period or periods for which—
(a)
(a) he was participating in arrangements for training under section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 19738, under the Training Opportunities Programme, the Youth Opportunities Programme, the Youth Training Scheme of the Manpower Services Commission or the Training Commission as the case may be or any scheme run by the Training and Enterprise Councils or the Local Enterprise Companies; or
(b)
(b) the student was in receipt of unemployment benefit under section 25(1) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 19929or of a jobseeker’s allowance under Part I of the Jobseekers Act 199510; or
(c)
(c) the student was available for employment and, if under the age of 18 years, registered for employment; or
(d)
(d) the student held a State Studentship or comparable award; or
(e)
(e) the student received incapacity benefit under section 30A, sickness benefit under section 31(1), maternity allowance under section 35(1), severe disablement allowance under section 68(1), invalidity pension under section 33(1)(b), 40(3) or 41(2), statutory sick pay under Part XI, or statutory maternity pay under Part XII, of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 199211; or
(f)
(f) the student could not reasonably have been expected to support himself out of his earnings because he had the care of a person under the age of 18 years who was dependent upon him.
(3)For the purposes of paragraph (1)(e) a student shall be regarded as irreconcilably estranged from his parents if, but not only if, he has not communicated with either one of them for the period of one year before the beginning of the year for which payments in pursuance of his award fall to be made.
(4) In this regulation—
(a)
(a) any reference to a person registered or available for employment is a reference to his being so registered or available for the purposes of … section 124 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992; and
(b)
(b) “parent” shall have the same meaning as in Part II of Schedule 3 to these Regulations.
References to courses
4.—(1) In these Regulations any reference to a designated course shall be construed as a reference to a course designated by or under regulation 10 and, in relation to any person, any reference to such a course (otherwise unqualified) shall, as the context requires, be construed as a reference to a designated course which the person in question attends or has applied to attend; and, in relation to any designated course except one designated under regulation 10(1)(d)(ii) or (iii), any reference to a course shall be construed as a reference to either a course of full-time study or a sandwich course.
(2) In these Regulations any reference to a first degree course, a Dip HE course, a course of initial training for teachers, or a course comparable to a first degree course shall be construed in accordance with regulation 10.
(3) In these Regulations any reference to a sandwich course shall be construed as a reference to such a course within the meaning of paragraph 1 of Schedule 5.
(a)
(a) (4) in the case of a student who began his course before 1st April 1989 any reference to a course of higher education is a reference to a course listed in paragraph 2 of Schedule 2 to the Education (Schools and Further Education) Regulations 198112as in force on 31st March 1989;
(b)
(b) in the case of a...
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