The Personal Community Charge (Students) Regulations 1989

Interpretation

2.—(1) In regulations 2 to 5–

“full-time course of education” means (subject to paragraph (3)) a course of education–

(a) which subsists for at least one academic year of the educational establishment concerned or, in the case of an educational establishment which does not have academic years, for at least one calendar year,

(b) which persons undertaking it are normally required by the educational establishment concerned to attend (whether at premises of the establishment or otherwise) for periods of at least 24 weeks in each academic or calendar year (as the case may be) during which it subsists, and

(c) the nature of which is such that a person undertaking it would normally require to undertake periods of study, tuition or work experience which together amount in each such academic or calendar year to an average of at least 21 hours a week as respects the periods of attendance mentioned in paragraph (b) above for the year;

• “further education” with respect to an educational establishment in England or Wales has the same meaning as in the Education Act 1944(1), with respect to an educational establishment in Scotland has the same meaning as in the Education (Scotland) Act 1980(2), and with respect to an educational establishment in Northern Ireland has the same meaning as in article 5(c) of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986(3);

• “higher education” has the same meaning as in the Education Reform Act 1988(4); and

• “relevant educational establishment” means–

  (a)

  a university (including a constituent college, school or other institution of a university);

  (b)

  an institution in England or Wales providing further or higher education which is (within the meaning of the Education Act 1944(5)) maintained or assisted by a local education authority, or which is in receipt of grants made under regulations under section 100 of that Act(6);

  (c)

  a central institution or college of education in Scotland within the meaning of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980(7);

  (d)

  a college of education in Northern Ireland within the meaning of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986(8);

  (e)

  an institution within the PCFC funding sector for the purposes of the Education Reform Act 1988(9);

  (f)

  a theological college;

  (g)

  any other institution in England or Wales established solely or mainly for the purpose of providing courses of further or higher education;

  (h)

  any other institution in Scotland or Northern Ireland established solely or mainly for the purpose of providing courses of further education.

(2) In determining whether a course falls within the definition of “full-time course of education” in paragraph (1)–

(a) in applying paragraph (c) of that definition, a person is to be treated as undertaking work experience at any time if, as part of the curriculum of the course–

(i) he is at a place of employment of his and is providing services under his contract of employment, or

(ii) he is at a place where a trade, business, profession or other occupation which is relevant to the subject matter of the course is carried on, and he is there for the purposes of gaining experience of that trade, business, profession or other occupation,

and references in paragraph (3) below to periods of work experience shall be construed accordingly;

(b) where the educational establishment concerned does not have academic years, in applying paragraphs (b) and (c) of that definition, the first calendar year shall be treated as beginning with the day on which the course begins, and subsequent calendar years (if any) as beginning on the anniversary of that day;

(c) in applying those paragraphs to a course which begins part-way through an academic year of the educational establishment concerned, the academic year shall be treated as beginning at the beginning of the academic term in which the course begins, and subsequent academic years (if any) as beginning at the beginning of the equivalent term in those years; and

(d) in applying those paragraphs to a course which subsists (or is treated as subsisting) for other than a number of complete academic or calendar years (as the case may be), any last part year of the course shall be disregarded.

(3) But a course of education is not to be treated as a full-time course of education for the purposes of regulations 3 to 5 if the aggregate for the course as a whole of all the periods of work experience a person undertaking it would normally require to undertake as mentioned in paragraph (c) of the definition of “full-time course of education” above exceeds the aggregate of all the periods of study or tuition not constituting work experience he would so normally require to undertake (counting for this purpose any period of study, tuition or work experience in a part year which might otherwise fall to be disregarded under paragraph (2)(d)).

(4) A person is to be treated as ceasing to undertake a course of education for the purposes of these Regulations if he has completed it, abandoned it or is no longer permitted by the educational establishment to attend it.

(1)

1944 c. 31; see section 41, substituted by section 120(2) of the Education Reform Act 1988 (c. 40).

(2)

1980 c. 44; see section 1(5), to which relevant amendments were made by The Local Government and Planning (Scotland) Act 1982 (c. 43), Schedule 3, paragraph 37(b)(i) and Schedule 4, Part I.

(3)

S.I. 1986/594 (N.I.3).

(4)

1988 c. 40; see section 120(1).

(5)

See section 114(2).

(6)

Section 100 was amended by S.I. 1964/490, article 3(2)(a), the Local Government Act 1958 (c. 55), Schedule 8, paragraphs 16(2) and 35 and Schedule 9, Part II, the Education Act 1962 (c. 12), section 13 and Schedule 2, and the Education Act 1980 (c. 20), Schedule 7.

(7)

See section 135(1).

(8)

See article 2(2).

(9)

See section 120(8).