The Assembly Learning Grants and Loans (Higher Education) (Wales) Regulations 2009

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations provide for financial support for students who are ordinarily resident in Wales taking designated higher education courses in respect of academic years beginning on or after 1 September 2010. They consolidate, with some changes, the Assembly Learning Grants and Loans (Higher Education) (Wales) (No.2) Regulations 2008, as amended (“the 2008 (No.2) Regulations”).

These Regulations revoke the 2008 (No.2) Regulations. Regulation 3 sets out the extent of the revocation. Changes of substance made in these Regulations (other than rates of grants and loans) are highlighted below.

To qualify for financial support a student must be an “eligible student”. Broadly, a person is an eligible student if he or she falls within one of the categories listed in Part 2 of Schedule 1 and the eligibility provisions in Part 2 of the Regulations. The Regulations apply to students ordinarily resident in Wales wherever they study on a designated course. For the purposes of these Regulations a person who is ordinarily resident in Wales, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man as a result of having moved from one of those areas for the purpose of undertaking his or her course is considered ordinarily resident in the place from which that person moved (Schedule 1, paragraph 1(3)). An eligible student must also satisfy any requirements elsewhere in the Regulations; in particular the specific requirements applicable to each type of financial support.

Support is only available under the Regulations in respect of “designated” courses within the meaning of regulations 5, 70, 86, 110 and Schedule 2.

The distinction between old system eligible students and new system eligible students (introduced by the Assembly Learning Grants and Loans (Higher Education) (Wales) Regulations 2006) in relation to financial support to students for full-time courses is retained (regulation 2(1)).

Old system eligible students are eligible students attending courses that started before 1 September 2006 and gap-year students starting courses before 1 September 2007 and certain other categories of student. The following grants and loans are available to old system eligible students subject to the specified conditions–

• Grant for fees (regulations 16 to 18);

• Fee contribution loan (regulation 21);

• Grant for disabled students' living costs (regulation 25);

• Grant for dependants (regulations 26 to 31);

• Grant for travel (regulations 32 to 34);

• Higher education grant (regulation 36); and

• Loans for living costs (Part 6).

A new system eligible student is an eligible student who started their course on or after 1 September 2006 and is continuing on that course after 31 August 2010, or starts their present course on or after 1 September 2010, and is not an old system eligible student.

Regulation 2 of these Regulations introduces two new categories of student, namely a “2010 gap year student” and a “2010 cohort student”. The term 2010 gap year student is defined in regulation 2(13) to (16). A 2010 cohort student is an eligible student who begins the present course on or after 1 September 2010. As such, 2010 cohort students fall within the category of new system eligible students. The definition of 2010 cohort student in regulation 2(1) provides that 2010 gap year students, together with certain other students, are not classed as 2010 cohort students.

In addition, regulation 2(1) (in the definition of “flexible postgraduate ITT course” (“cwrs HCA hyblyg i ôl-raddedigion”) and the definitions of type 1, type 2 and type 3 teacher training student) and regulations 5, 6, 7, 17, 24, 25 and 86 remove the special provisions for eligible full-time and eligible part-time students beginning initial teacher training courses on or after 1 September 2010.

Part 2 of these Regulations concerns eligibility. A minor change has been made to regulation 4, increasing eligibility for support of full-time students where they have already been determined by the Welsh Ministers as being eligible students in connection with a previous designated distance learning course and that status has been converted or transferred from that course to the present course.

Part 3 of these Regulations makes provision for applications for support (regulation 9), time limits for applications (regulation 10) and regulation 11 and Schedule 3 specify the information that must be provided by applicants.

Part 4 of these Regulations provides for fee support, in the form of grants for fees and fee loans. These Regulations provide that a student who is a 2010 cohort student does not qualify for a new fee grant (regulation 19(6)). Regulation 22 provides for the payment of fee loans to new system eligible students who do not qualify for new fee grant. 2010 cohort students fall within that category. Regulation 23 provides for the payment of fee loans to students who qualify for new fee grant.

Part 5 of these Regulations makes provision for grants for living costs which includes grants for travel for certain categories of eligible student. Regulation 31 provides that, in calculating the net income of a dependant (for the purposes of grants for dependants), any payment made to the dependant under section 23C(5A) of the Children Act 1989 is to be disregarded. In addition, these Regulations provide that the amount of maintenance grant or special support grant payable to a new system eligible student differs according to whether the student is a 2010 cohort student (regulations 39 and 42 refer), or is not a 2010 cohort student (regulations 38 and 41 refer). The maximum amount of maintenance grant or special support grant payable to a new system eligible student who is a 2010 cohort student, in respect of an academic year, is £5,000 (regulations 39(1) and 42(1) refer).

Part 6 makes provision for loans for living costs. The amount of loan payable to a new system eligible student may differ according to whether the student is a 2010 cohort student (regulation 48), or is not a 2010 cohort student (regulation 46).

Part 7 sets out general provisions relating to loans made under the Regulations.

Part 8 and Schedule 4 make provision for “college fee loans”. These are loans in respect of the college fees payable by a qualifying student to a college or permanent private hall of the University of Oxford or to a college of the University of Cambridge in connection with attendance of a qualifying student on a qualifying course.

Part 9 and Schedule 5 continue to make provision for the means-testing of students taking designated full-time courses. A contribution from the student is calculated on the basis of household income. The contribution is to be applied to specified grants and loans until it is extinguished against the amount of the particular grants and loans for which the student qualifies. As regards the calculation of the residual income of an eligible student’s parent, paragraph 5(3) of Schedule 5 provides that, where the Welsh Ministers are satisfied that the residual income of the parent in the current financial year (as defined) is likely to be not more than 85 per cent. of the parent’s residual income in the prior financial year, the Welsh Ministers must ascertain the parent’s residual income by reference to the current financial year. A change has also been made to Schedule 5 in that the method of calculating the contribution to be made from a new system eligible student differs according to whether the student is, or is not, a 2010 cohort student (paragraph 9 of Schedule 5 refers).

Part 10 makes provision for payment of grants and loans.

Part 11 makes provision for support to students who are undertaking designated distance learning courses. Regulation 72 provides that an eligible distance learning student may qualify for support under Part 11 despite that student already holding a degree (other than an honours degree). Where such a student begins a distance learning course for the purpose of obtaining an honours degree, that distance learning course need not be a continuation of the student’s degree course at the same educational institution in order for the student to qualify for support (regulation 72(8)).

In respect of grant payable under regulation 72, regulation 74(3) provides that where the Welsh Ministers are satisfied that an eligible distance learning student’s financial resources in the preceding financial year are greater, by £1,000 or more, than his or her financial resources in the current year, the Welsh Ministers must assess that student’s financial resources by reference to the current financial year. Regulation 74 also provides that, in determining the financial resources of an eligible distance learning student, any payment under section 23C(5A) of the Children Act 1989 is to be disregarded.

Part 12 and Schedule 6 make provision for support for part-time courses. A minor change has been made to regulation 85(9), increasing eligibility for support for part-time students where they have already been determined by the Welsh Ministers as being eligible students in connection with a previous designated distance learning course and that status has been converted or transferred from that course to the present course. Under regulation 85, an eligible part-time student may qualify for support under Part 12 of the Regulations despite that student already holding a degree (other than an honours degree). Where such a student begins a part-time course for the purposes of obtaining an honours degree, that part-time course need not be a continuation of the student’s degree course at the same educational institution in order for the student to qualify for support (regulation 85(18)).

Regulation 88 provides that in determining the financial resources of an eligible part-time student, for the purposes of grant payable under that regulation, any payment under section 23C(5A) of the Children Act 1989 is to be disregarded. Regulation 88 also provides that where the Welsh Ministers are satisfied that an eligible part-time student’s financial resources in the preceding financial year are greater, by £1,000 or more, than his or her financial resources in the current financial year, the Welsh Ministers must assess that student’s financial resources by reference to the current financial year. Regulation 96 provides that, in calculating the net income of a dependant (for the purposes of part-time grants for dependants), any payment made under section 23C(5A) of the Children Act 1989 is to be disregarded.

Schedule 6 makes provision for the means testing of part-time students in relation to part-time grants for dependants. In calculating the residual income of an eligible part-time student’s partner, paragraph 4(3) of Schedule 6 provides that where the Welsh Ministers are satisfied that the residual income of the partner in the current financial year (as defined) is likely to be not more than 85 per cent. of the partner’s residual income in the prior financial year, the Welsh Ministers must ascertain the partner’s residual income by reference to the current financial year.

Part 13 makes provision for postgraduate students with disabilities.

Part 14 makes amendments to the 2008 (No.2) Regulations which are minor and typographical in nature.