(1)Each council shall be responsible, subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, for administering funds made available to the council by the Secretary of State and others for the purposes of providing financial support for activities eligible for funding under this section.
(2)The activities eligible for funding under this section are—
(a)the provision of education and the undertaking of research by higher education institutions in the council’s area,
(b)the provision of any facilities, and the carrying on of any other activities, by higher education institutions in their area which the governing bodies of those institutions consider it necessary or desirable to provide or carry on for the purpose of or in connection with education or research,
(c)the provision—
(i)by institutions in their area maintained or assisted by local education authorities, or
(ii)by such institutions in their area as are within the further education sector,
of prescribed courses of higher education, and
(d)the provision by any person of services for the purposes of, or in connection with, the provision of education or the undertaking of research by institutions within the higher education sector.
(3)A council may—
(a)make grants, loans or other payments to the governing body of any higher education institution in respect of expenditure incurred or to be incurred by them for the purposes of any activities eligible for funding under this section by virtue of subsection (2)(a) or (b) above, and
(b)make grants, loans or other payments to any persons in respect of expenditure incurred or to be incurred by them for the purposes of the provision as mentioned in subsection (2)(c) above of prescribed courses of higher education or the provision of services as mentioned in subsection (2)(d) above,
subject in each case to such terms and conditions as the council think fit.
(4)The terms and conditions on which a council may make any grants, loans or other payments under this section may in particular—
(a)enable the council to require the repayment, in whole or in part, of sums paid by the council if any of the terms and conditions subject to which the sums were paid is not complied with, and
(b)require the payment of interest in respect of any period during which a sum due to the council in accordance with any of the terms and conditions remains unpaid,
but shall not relate to the application by the body to whom the grants or other payments are made of any sums derived otherwise than from the council.
(5)In this section and section 66 of this Act “higher education institution” means a university, an institution conducted by a higher education corporation or a designated institution.