The Further Education Loans Regulations 2012
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 2012/1818 |
| Year | 2012 |
2012 No. 1818
Education, England
The Further Education Loans Regulations 2012
Made 11th July 2012
Laid before Parliament 12th July 2012
Coming into force 1st September 2012
The Secretary of State makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 22 and 42(6) of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 19981.
PART 1
GENERAL
Citation, commencement and application
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Further Education Loans Regulations 2012 and come into force on 1st September 2012.
(2) These Regulations apply in relation to England2.
(3) These Regulations apply to the provision of fee loans to students in connection with a further education course which begins on or after 1st August 2013 whether anything done under these Regulations is done before, on or after 1st August 2013.
Interpretation
2. In these Regulations—
“the 1998 Act” means the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998;
“Access to HE Diploma” means a qualification which is specifically designed to prepare persons for study at university;
“applicant” means a person applying for a fee loan under regulation 10(1);
“Apprenticeship Framework” has the meaning given to it in section 12 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009;
“borrower” means a person to whom a fee loan has been made;
“current course” means the designated further education course in respect of which a person is applying for a fee loan;
“designated further education course” means a course designated by regulation 4 or by the Secretary of State under regulation 4;
“Directive 2004/38” means Directive 2004/38 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29th April 20043on the rights of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely in the territory of the Member States;
“electronic signature” is so much of anything in electronic form as—
(a) is incorporated into or otherwise logically associated with any electronic communication or electronic data; and
(b) purports to be so incorporated or associated for the purpose of being used in establishing the authenticity of the communication or data, the integrity of the communication or data, or both;
“eligible prisoner” means a prisoner—
(a) who begins the current course on or after 1st August 2013;
(b) who is serving a sentence of imprisonment in England;
(c) has been authorised by the prison Governor or Director or other appropriate authority to study the current course; and
(d) whose earliest release date is within 6 years of the first day of the current course;
“eligible student” has the meaning given in regulation 3;
“EU national” means a national of a Member State of the EU;
“fee loan” means a loan for fees made to an eligible student pursuant to regulations made by the Secretary of State under section 22 of the 1998 Act;
“fees” has the meaning given in section 41(1) of the Higher Education Act 20044;
“further education course” means a course providing further education as defined by section 2(3) of the Education Act 19965;
“information” includes documents;
“institution” means an organisation delivering further education courses;
“Islands” means the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man and “the United Kingdom and Islands” means the United Kingdom and the Islands taken together;
“loan”, except where otherwise indicated, means a loan made pursuant to regulations made by the Secretary of State under section 22 of the 1998 Act, including the interest accrued on the loan and any penalties or charges incurred in connection with it;
“period of eligibility” has the meaning given in regulation 5 in relation to an eligible student;
“person granted humanitarian protection” means a person—
(a) who, on the grounds of humanitarian protection, has been granted leave to remain under the immigration rules as defined in section 33(1) of the Immigration Act 19716;
(b) whose leave to remain is extant, or in respect of whose leave to remain an appeal is pending (within the meaning of section 104 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 20027); and
(c) who has been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and Islands throughout the period since the person was granted such leave to remain;
“public funds” means moneys provided by Parliament or by a government authority outside the United Kingdom;
“publicly funded”, unless otherwise indicated, means maintained or assisted by recurrent grants out of public funds and related expressions are to be interpreted accordingly;
“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 19518as extended by the Protocol thereto which entered into force on 4th October 19679;
“right of permanent residence” means a right arising under Directive 2004/38 to reside in the United Kingdom permanently without restriction;
“student loans legislation” means the Education (Student Loans) Act 199010, the Education (Student Loans) (Northern Ireland) Order 199011, the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 and regulations made under those Acts or that Order, the Education (Student Support) (Northern Ireland) Order 199812and regulations made under that Order or the 1998 Act;
“Turkish worker” means a Turkish national who—
(a) is ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and Islands; and
(b) is, or has been, lawfully employed in the United Kingdom.
PART 2
ELIGIBILITY
Eligible students
3.—(1) An eligible student qualifies for a fee loan in connection with a designated further education course subject to and in accordance with this regulation.
(2) A person is an eligible student in connection with a designated further education course if in assessing that person’s application for a fee loan the Secretary of State determines that the person falls within one of the categories set out in Part 2 of Schedule 1 and the person satisfies the requirements of the other paragraphs of this regulation.
(3) The requirements of this paragraph are that the eligible student (“A”)—
(a)
(a) has reached the age of 24 on the first day of A’s designated further education course;
(b)
(b) is not in breach of any obligation to repay any loan;
(c)
(c) has ratified any agreement for a loan made with A when A was under the age of 18;
(d)
(d) has not, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, shown by A’s conduct that A is unfitted to receive support.
(4) If A is an eligible prisoner A can qualify for a fee loan under this regulation in respect of a designated further education course which is taking place at the time which A enters prison, is in prison or is released from prison.
(5) For the purposes of paragraphs (4)(b) and (4)(c), “loan” means a loan made under any provision of the student loans legislation.
(6) In a case where the agreement for a loan is subject to the law of Scotland, paragraph (4)(c) only applies if the agreement was made—
(a)
(a) before 25th September 1991; and
(b)
(b) with the concurrence of the borrower’s curator or at a time when the borrower had no curator.
(7) Where the Secretary of State has determined that, by virtue of being a refugee or the spouse, civil partner, child or step-child of a refugee, a person (“A”) is—
(a)
(a) an eligible student in connection with an application for a fee loan for a designated further education course; and
(b)
(b) as at the day before that course begins, the refugee status of A or of A’s spouse, civil partner, parent or step-parent, as the case may be, has expired and no further leave to remain has been granted and no appeal is pending (within the meaning of section 104 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002),
A’s status as an eligible student terminates immediately before the first day of the course.
(8) Where the Secretary of State has determined that, by virtue of being a person granted humanitarian protection or the spouse, civil partner, child or step-child of such a person, a person (“A”) is—
(a)
(a) an eligible student in connection with an application for a fee loan for a designated further education course; and
(b)
(b) as at the day before that course begins, the period for which the person granted humanitarian protection is allowed to stay in the United Kingdom has expired and no further leave to remain has been granted and no appeal is pending (within the meaning of section 104 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002),
A’s status as an eligible student terminates immediately before the first day of the course.
Designated courses
4.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), a further education course is a designated further education course for the purposes of section 22(1) of the 1998 Act and this regulation if it is one of the following—
(a)
(a) a number of A levels not greater than four;
(b)
(b) an Access to HE Diploma;
(c)
(c) a Level 3 Certificate;
(d)
(d) a Level 3 Diploma;
(e)
(e) a Level 4 Certificate;
(f)
(f) a Level 4 Diploma;
(g)
(g) an Advanced Apprenticeship Framework; or
(h)
(h) a Higher Apprenticeship Framework.
(2) A further education course is a designated further education course if—
(a)
(a) it began on or after 1st August 2013;
(b)
(b) the institution providing the course receives public funds for a course listed in regulation 4(1);
(c)
(c) the further education course is publicly funded; and
(d)
(d) the institution providing the course is situated in England.
(3) For the purposes of section 22 of the 1998 Act the Secretary of State may designate further education courses which are not designated under paragraphs (1) and (2).
Period of eligibility
5.—(1) A student’s status as an eligible student is retained in connection with a designated...
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