The Education (Graduate Endowment, Student Fees and Support) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2006

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations (“the Amendment Regulations”), which come into force on 30th June 2006, amend: –

• the Nursing and Midwifery Student Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 1992 (regulation 2 and Schedule 1;

• the Education Authority Bursaries (Scotland) Regulations 1995 (regulation 3 and Schedule 2);

• the Education (Fees and Awards) (Scotland) Regulations 1997 (regulation 4 and Schedule 3);

• the Students'Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 1999 (regulation 5 and Schedule 4);

• the Education (Student Loans) (Scotland) Regulations 2000 (regulation 6 and Schedule 5);

• the Graduate Endowment (Scotland) Regulations 2001(regulation 7 and Schedule 6); and

• the Education Maintenance Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (regulation 8 and Schedule 7),

(together “the principal Regulations”).

The principa l Regulations set out in Schedules categories of person who are eligible for different types of support, except the Graduate Endowment (Scotland) Regulations 2001, which set out categories of person who are liable for the graduate endowment. The Educatio n (Fees and Awards) (Scotland) Regulations 1997 also set out categories of person in respect of whom higher fees should not be charged. Persons in the categories must meet different ordinary residence requirements and the rules to be applied to determinin g ordinary residence are either contained in separate Schedules to the principal Regulations or, in the case of the Education (Fees and Awards) (Scotland) Regulations 1997 and the Education (Student Loans) (Scotland) Regulations 2000, elsewhere in the Regu lations.

The Amendment Regulations restate with amendments the Schedules in the principal Regulations which contain the categories of person and the Schedules or separate regulations in the principal Regulations which contain the rules for determining the o rdinary residence requirements.

The amendments are partly concerned with Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (O.J. L 158, 30.04.04, p.77) (“the Directive”) on the rights of citizens of the Union and their family members to mo ve and reside freely in the territory of the member states. The Regulations implement part of this Directive, so far as it relates to student support.

Certain persons who previously may have been excluded from the categories as set out in the principal Re gulations are to be included in the categories as a result of the Directive. The amendments are made to ensure that the categories and ordinary residence rules include, to the extent required by the Directive, all of those with a right of permanent resid ence arising by virtue of the Directive, all of those falling within the definition of worker in the Directive and all family members with rights under the Directive.

The amendments also revise the categories and the ordinary residence rules to ensure that non UK EC nationals, European Economic Area and Swiss self employed persons, European Economic Area and Swiss frontier workers, the children of Swiss nationals and UK nationals exercising free movement rights are included in the categories to the extent r equired by the Directive or by wider Community law.

The Amendment Regulations also amend categories in all of the principal Regulations (other than the Education (Fees and Awards) (Scotland) Regulations 1997) which cover those who have applied for refugee s tatus but, instead of being recognised as a refugee, are allowed leave to enter or remain . The amendments remove the three year ordinary residence requirement applying to such persons, who now have a similar ordinary residence requirement to refugees, bei ng required to be ordinary resident in the relevant area at all times since being granted their immigration status. The residence requirement of family members of such persons is also made consistent with that of family members of refugees.

The Amendment Regulations also amend the Nursing and Midwifery Student Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 1992 to clarify that tuition fees may form part of the allowance payable under those Regulations, the Education (Fees and Awards) (Scotland) Regulations 1997 to rem ove obsolete provisions for payments as regards students at Newbattle Abbey College, Dalkeith and the Education Maintenance Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 2004 to correct an omission from the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (Modification of Subordinate Legislation) Order 2005 (S.S.I. 2005/572) which inserted relevant references to civil partners in those Regulations.

A full regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as it has no impact on the costs of business.