Education (Grants) (Music, Ballet and Choir Schools) (England) Regulations 2001

Part I General

Citation, commencement, extent and application

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Education (Grants) (Music, Ballet and Choir Schools) (England) Regulations 2001 and shall come into force on 1st September 2001.

(2) These Regulations shall apply in relation to a school year beginning on or after the date that they come into force.

(3) These Regulations apply only in relation to England.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations, except where the context otherwise requires—

“aid” means the remission of fees or charges, or the payment of grant, pursuant to the Scheme;

“aid questions” has the meaning assigned by paragraph 6 of Schedule 1 and “aided” means aided pursuant to the Scheme;

“aided place” means a place at a school for which an aided pupil has been or may be selected pursuant to the Scheme;

“aided pupil” means a child selected or put forward for an aided place;

“child” includes a step-child, a child adopted in pursuance of adoption proceedings and a person who is over compulsory school age;

“designated fees” has the meaning assigned by paragraph 13 of Schedule 1;

“employment” includes the holding of any office and any occupation for gain (including self-employment in any trade, profession or vocation) and “employed” shall be construed accordingly;

“European Union” means the territory comprised in the member States of the European Union as constituted from time to time;

“EEA Agreement” means the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2nd May 1992(1) as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17th March 1993(2);

“European Economic Area” means the area comprised by the States which are Contracting Parties to the EEA Agreement;

“EEA National” means a person who is a national of a State which is a contracting party to the EEA Agreement (including the United Kingdom);

“financial year” and “preceding financial year” have the meanings assigned by paragraph 7 of Schedule 1;

“income”, “relevant income” and “total income” have the meanings assigned by paragraph 8 of Schedule 1;

“refugee” means a person who:

(a)

is recognised by Her Majesty’s Government as a refugee within the meaning of the United National Convention relating to the Status of Refugees done at Geneva on 28th July 1951(3) as extended by the protocol thereto which entered into force on 4th October 1967(4), or

(b)

has been informed in writing by a person acting under the authority of the Secretary of State for the Home Department that, although he is considered not to qualify for recognition as a refugee, it is thought right to allow him to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, and has been granted leave to enter or remain accordingly;

“relevant date” means 1st January in the calendar year in which an aided pupil would take up an aided place at a school;

“the Scheme” means the aided pupil scheme described in Schedule 1 as well as, in regulation 5, the aided pupil scheme described in the Regulation revoked by regulation 15;

“school” has the meaning assigned by regulation 3; and

“school year” in relation to a school means the period beginning with the first school term to begin after July and ending with the beginning of the first such term to begin after the following July.

(2) Except where the context otherwise requires, any reference in these Regulations to—

(a) a numbered Part, regulation or Schedule is a reference to the Part, regulation or Schedule in these Regulations so numbered; and

(b) a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph so numbered in the regulation or Schedule in which the reference appears.

References to schools

3.—(1) Any reference in these Regulations to a school is a reference to a school which with the prior consent of the Secretary of State is participating in the aided pupil scheme described in Schedule 1 and which has been finally registered as an independent school in accordance with section 465(3) of the Education Act 1996.

(2) Except where the context otherwise requires, references to a school include references to the proprietors or governing body thereof and persons acting with the authority of the proprietors or governing body.

References to parents

4.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), any reference in these Regulations to the parents of a child or aided pupil is a reference to:

(a) the child’s father and mother where—

(i) they live together as husband and wife (whether or not they are married to each other), and

(ii) the child normally resides with them in the same household; or

(b) where sub-paragraph (a) above does not apply, the parent, being either the father or mother of the child, with whom the child normally resides and the spouse (if any) of that parent where the spouse normally resides with that parent and the child in the same household; or

(c) where neither sub-paragraph (a) nor (b) above applies, the child’s guardian appointed in accordance with section 5 of the Children Act 1989(5) and the spouse (if any) of that guardian where the spouse normally resides with that guardian and the child in the same household; or

(d) where none of sub-paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) above applies, the person with whom the child resides in accordance with either:

(i) a subsisting residence order made under section 8 of the Children Act 1989; or

(ii) any subsisting court order (other than a residence order) which specifies who is to have actual custody or care and control of the child,

and the spouse (if any) of that person where the spouse normally resides with that person and the child in the same household; or

(e) where none of sub-paragraphs (a) to (d) above applies and where the child is not looked after by a local authority for the purposes of section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989, the person with whom the child normally resides in accordance with any informal care or fostering arrangement, and that person’s spouse (if any) where the spouse normally resides with that person and the child in the same household.

(2) Where a child or aided pupil—

(a) either has no parents as defined in paragraph (1) or the school is satisfied that no such parents can be found, and

(b) is either looked after by a local authority or provided with accommodation within the meaning of section 105(1) of the Children Act 1989,

he shall be treated as a child whose parents have no income for the purposes of these Regulations, and any reference to his parents shall be construed as a reference to the authority or organisation which looks after him or provides him with accommodation.

(3) References in this regulation to a person who normally resides with a child mean, in relation to a child who is a boarder at a school, a person with whom the child normally resides when he is not at school.

(4) Where a child has been adopted pursuant to an order of a court of competent jurisdiction, references in paragraph 1(a) and (b) to “father” and “mother” shall be construed as references to the adoptive parents and not his natural parents.

Part II Grant

Grant in respect of aided pupil scheme

5.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Part, the Secretary of State may, in respect of any school year, pay to each school grant in respect of their expenditure in operating the Scheme.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), the amount of the grant paid to each school in respect of any school year shall equal the aggregate of—

(a) the fees and charges for that year remitted by them, and

(b) the grants made by them to the parents of aided pupils for that year,

in accordance with the Scheme.

(3) No grant shall be paid to a school in respect of uniform grant paid by a school to the parents of an aided pupil who does not take up an aided place.

Conditions of grant

6.  The payment of grant by the Secretary of State shall be subject in the case of each school—

(a) to grant being claimed in accordance with regulation 7, and

(b) the fulfilment of all relevant conditions mentioned in Schedule 2.

Grant claims

7.—(1) A school shall submit grant claims to the Secretary of State at such times, for such periods, in such manner and form and furnish such declarations and other information, as the Secretary of State may require; but subject as aforesaid, they may submit to the Secretary of State a claim for grant in respect of such periods, not being less than a term, as appear to the school to be appropriate.

(2) A school may submit grant claims on the basis of estimated expenditure (“provisional claims”); but where a provisional claim is submitted, the school shall, as soon as is reasonably practicable, submit a claim in respect of the period in question which is not based on such an estimate and that claim shall supersede the provisional claim.

Payment of grant

8.—(1) Subject to regulation 6, as soon as is reasonably practicable after he is satisfied that a grant claim is in order, the Secretary of State shall pay the grant in respect of the claim, although he may, where he considers it appropriate to do so, make earlier payments on account in respect of that claim or in respect of a provisional claim relating to the same period.

(2) Any over-payment or under-payment of grant which appears to the Secretary of State to have occurred shall be adjusted as soon as is reasonably practicable by payments between the Secretary of State and the school concerned.

Part III Grant to the Royal Ballet School

Grant to the Royal Ballet School

9.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Part, the Secretary of State may, in respect of each school year, pay grant to the Royal Ballet School (“the RBS”) in respect of their expenditure, incurred or to be incurred, in connection with—

(a) the provision of education at the school;

(b) the staging of auditions and associated activities to attract new pupils to the school; and

(c) the maintenance of the school’s premises at White Lodge, Richmond Park.

(2) The payment of grant under this Regulation shall be dependent on the fulfilment of such conditions as may be specified by the Secretary of State.

Amount of grant

10.—(1) The amount of grant payable by the Secretary of State under this Part in respect of any school year shall, subject to paragraph (2), be such an amount as he may determine after consultation with the RBS.

(2) In determining the amount of grant payable to the RBS under this Part, the Secretary of State shall have regard in particular to—

(a) the amount of fees or charges received or to be received by the RBS in respect of the provision of education for the school year in respect of which grant is to be paid under this Part; and

(b) the amount of grant received or to be received by the RBS for that school year under the Scheme referred to in Part II above to take account of fees and charges remitted by the RBS pursuant to the Scheme.

Part IV Grant to the Choir Schools' Association Bursary Trust

Grant in respect of choristers

11.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Part, the Secretary of State may, in respect of each school year, pay grant to the Choir Schools' Association Bursary Trust (“the trust”) in respect of their expenditure, incurred or to be incurred, in connection with the provision of education to pupils to whom paragraph (2) applies.

(2) This paragraph applies to pupils who are—

(a) admitted as choristers to a choir school on or after 1st September 1991;

(b) aged between 8 and 13; and

(c) considered by the choir school to which they are admitted and by the trust to be likely to benefit from the education provided there.

(3) Any reference in this Part to a choir school is a reference to a choir school which has been finally registered as an independent school in accordance with section 465(3) of the Education Act 1996.

(4) None of the provisions contained in these Regulations shall apply to pupils who were admitted to a choir school before 1st September 2001, and in respect of such pupils the Regulations specified in Schedule 3 shall continue to have effect.

Conditions of residence applicable to grant

12.—(1) The Secretary of State may pay such grant to the trust only in respect of pupils who meet the conditions of residence set out in paragraph 2 of Schedule 1, as modified by paragraph (2) below.

(2) For the purposes of this regulation, the references to “the relevant date” in paragraph 2 of Schedule 1 shall be read as referring to 1st January in the calendar year in which the school year, in respect of which grant is to be paid under this Part, begins.

Amount of grant

13.  The amount of grant payable by the Secretary of State under this Part in respect of any school year shall be such amount as he may determine after consultation with the trust.

Accounts

14.—(1) The trust shall keep such records and accounts and furnish to the Secretary of State such information, documents, returns and accounts as the Secretary of State may from time to time require.

(2) The trust shall require the choir schools to keep such records and accounts and furnish to the Secretary of State such information, documents, returns and accounts as the Secretary of State may from time to time require.

Part V Revocation and Transitional Provisions

Revocation and Transitional Provisions

15.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2) and to Regulation 11(4), the Regulations specified in Schedule 3 (“the old Regulations”) are hereby revoked in relation to England.

(2) The old Regulations shall continue to apply for the purposes of the payment of grant by the Secretary of State in respect of expenditure incurred by a school in operating the aided pupil scheme described in the old Regulations.

Stephen Timms

Minister of State,

Department for Education and Skills

27th July 2001