The Education (Student Finance) (Fee Limit and Loan Amounts) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2024

Welsh Statutory Instruments

2024 No. 144 (W. 31)

Education, Wales

The Education (Student Finance) (Fee Limit and Loan Amounts) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2024

Made

13 February 2024

Laid before Senedd Cymru

15 February 2024

Coming into force

8 March 2024

The Welsh Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred upon the Secretary of State by sections 22(1)(a), 22(2)(a), (b) and (d) and 42(6) of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998(1), and now exercisable by them(2), and powers conferred on them under sections 5(3) and 55(2) of the Higher Education (Wales) Act 2015(3).

Title and coming into force

1.—(1) The title of these Regulations is the Education (Student Finance) (Fee Limit and Loan Amounts) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2024.

(2) These Regulations come into force on 8 March 2024.

Amendments to the Higher Education (Amounts) (Wales) Regulations 2015

2.  The Higher Education (Amounts) (Wales) Regulations 2015(4) are amended in accordance with regulations 3 to 6.

3.  For regulation 3 (but not the heading before it) substitute—

“3.   Subject to regulations 4, 5 and 6, Column 2 of Table 1 specifies the prescribed maximum amount for the purposes of section 5(3) of the 2015 Act in respect of an academic year in the corresponding entry in Column 1.

Table 1

Column 1	Column 2
Academic year	Prescribed maximum amount
Beginning before 1 August 2024	£9,000
Beginning on or after 1 August 2024	£9,250”

4.  For regulation 4 (but not the heading before it) substitute—

“4.— (1) This regulation applies in respect of—

(a) the final academic year of a course where that academic year is normally required to be completed after less than 15 weeks’ attendance;

(b) a course of initial training of teachers (including such a course leading to a first degree), an academic year during which any periods of full-time study are in aggregate less than 10 weeks.

(2) Where this regulation applies, Column 2 of Table 2 specifies the prescribed maximum amount for the purposes of section 5(3) of the 2015 Act in respect of an academic year in the corresponding entry in Column 1.

Table 2

Column 1	Column 2
Academic year	Prescribed maximum amount
Beginning before 1 August 2024	£4,500
Beginning on or after 1 August 2024	£4,625”

5.  For regulation 5 (but not the heading before it) substitute—

“5.— (1) This regulation applies in respect of an academic year of a sandwich course—

(a) during which any periods of full-time study are in aggregate less than 10 weeks, or

(b) if in respect of that academic year and any previous academic years of the course the aggregate of any one or more periods of attendance which are not periods of full-time study at the institution (disregarding intervening vacations) exceeds 30 weeks.

(2) Where this regulation applies, Column 2 of Table 3 specifies the prescribed maximum amount for the purposes of section 5(3) of the 2015 Act in respect of an academic year in the corresponding entry in Column 1.

Table 3

Column 1	Column 2
Academic year	Prescribed maximum amount
Beginning before 1 August 2024	£1,800
Beginning on or after 1 August 2024	£1,850”

6.  For regulation 6 (but not the heading before it) substitute—

“6.— (1) This regulation applies in respect of an academic year of a course provided in conjunction with an overseas institution—

(a) during which any periods of full-time study at the institution in the United Kingdom are in aggregate less than 10 weeks, or

(b) if in respect of that academic year and any previous academic years of the course the aggregate of any one or more periods of attendance which are not periods of full-time study at the institution in the United Kingdom (disregarding intervening vacations) exceeds 30 weeks.

(2) Where this regulation applies, Column 2 of Table 4 specifies the prescribed maximum amount for the purposes of section 5(3) of the 2015 Act in respect of an academic year in the corresponding entry in Column 1.

Table 4

Column 1	Column 2
Academic year	Prescribed maximum amount
Beginning before 1 August 2024	£1,350
Beginning on or after 1 August 2024	£1,385”

Amendments to the Education (Student Support) (Wales) Regulations 2017

7.  In each of regulations 16(1), 19(1) and 20(1) of the Education (Student Support) (Wales) Regulations 2017(5), at the end insert “or (ea)”.

Amendments to the Education (Student Support) (Wales) Regulations 2018

8.  In regulation 40 of the Education (Student Support) (Wales) Regulations 2018(6), in Table 2—

(a) in Column 1, after “Beginning on or after 1 September 2018” in both places it occurs, insert “but before 1 September 2024”;

(b) at the end of the Table, insert the following table entries—

“Beginning on or after 1 September 2024	1	Ordinary provider	Wales	£9,250 for a full-time course £2,625 for a part-time course
			Elsewhere in UK	£9,250 for a full-time course £6,935 for a part-time course
		Private institution	Wales	£6,165 for a full-time course £2,625 for a part-time course
			Elsewhere in UK	£6,165 for a full-time course £4,625 for a part-time course
	2	Ordinary provider	Wales	£4,625
			Elsewhere in UK	£4,625
		Private institution	Wales and elsewhere in UK	£3,080
	3	Ordinary provider	Wales	£1,850
			England	£1,850
			Scotland and Northern Ireland	£4,625
		Private institution	Wales and England	£1,230
			Scotland and Northern Ireland	£3,080
	4	Ordinary provider	Wales	£1,385
			England	£1,385
			Scotland and Northern Ireland	£4,625
		Private institution	Wales and England	£920
			Scotland and Northern Ireland	£3,080
	5	Ordinary provider	Wales and elsewhere in UK	£5,785
	6	Ordinary provider	Wales	£1,385
			England and Scotland	£1,385”

Jeremy Miles

Minister for Education and Welsh language, one of the Welsh Ministers

13 February 2024

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend—

(a) the Higher Education (Amounts) (Wales) Regulations 2015 (“the 2015 Regulations”),

(b) the Education (Student Support) (Wales) Regulations 2017 (“the 2017 Regulations”), and

(c) the Education (Student Support) (Wales) Regulations 2018 (“the 2018 Regulations”).

The 2015 Regulations prescribe the maximum amount that an institution with a fee and access plan is able to charge by way of tuition fees for full-time undergraduate courses. The 2015 Regulations also prescribe lower maximum amounts in respect of certain courses.

Regulations 3 to 6 amend the 2015 Regulations to increase each prescribed maximum amount in respect of academic years beginning on or after 1 August 2024.

The 2017 Regulations provide for financial support for eligible students taking designated higher education courses which begin before 1 August 2018.

The 2018 Regulations provide for financial support for eligible students taking designated higher education courses which begin on or after 1 August 2018.

Regulation 7 makes corrections to the 2017 Regulations.

Regulation 8 amends the 2018 Regulations to increase the maximum amount of tuition fee loan available to certain categories of students undertaking courses at ordinary providers in Wales in respect of academic years beginning on or after 1 August 2024. The increase in support corresponds to the increase in the prescribed maximum amount of fee under the 2015 Regulations, as a result of the amendments made by regulations 3 to 6.

The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, a regulatory impact assessment has been prepared as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations. A copy can be obtained from the Higher Education Division, Welsh Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ.

(1)

1998 c. 30; section 22(1) was amended by the Learning and Skills Act 2000 (c. 21), section 146. See section 43(1) of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 for the definitions of “prescribed” and “regulations”.

(2)

The functions of the Secretary of State in section 22(1) and (2)(b) and (d) of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 were transferred to the National Assembly for Wales, so far as they relate to making provision in relation to Wales, by section 44 of the Higher Education Act 2004 (c. 8). Section 44 of the Higher Education Act 2004 also provided that the functions in section 22(2)(a) of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 were to be exercised by the National Assembly for Wales concurrently with the Secretary of State, so far as they relate to making provision in relation to Wales. The Secretary of State’s function in section 42(6) of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998, in so far as being exercisable in relation to Wales, was transferred to the National Assembly for Wales by the National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 1999, article 2 and Schedule 1 (S.I. 1999/672). The functions of the National Assembly for Wales were transferred to the Welsh Ministers by virtue of section 162 of, and paragraph 30 of Schedule 11 to, the Government of Wales Act 2006 (c. 32).

(3)

2015 anaw 1. See section 57(1) for the definitions of “prescribed” and “regulations”.

(4)

S.I. 2015/1496 (W. 168).

(5)

S.I. 2017/47 (W. 21), to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.

(6)

S.I. 2018/191 (W. 42); relevant amendments are S.I. 2018/814 (W. 165); S.I. 2019/235 (W. 54) and S.I. 2020/153 (W. 27).