8.This Act establishes a new organisation, Qualifications Wales, to deliver a new model of regulation. Under the regime established by the Act, Qualifications Wales will exercise regulatory functions in relation to qualifications awarded in Wales. Functions exercisable by Qualifications Wales under this Act replace similar functions exercised by the Welsh Ministers under Chapter 2 of Part 5 of the Education Act 1997.
9.The Act gives Qualifications Wales two principal aims that give Qualifications Wales responsibility for ensuring that qualifications awarded in Wales (and the underpinning qualification system) are effective for meeting the needs of learners and promoting public confidence in them. In order to address a number of matters which contribute to effectiveness and public confidence, Qualifications Wales is required to develop and implement a system for recognising awarding bodies and approving and designating qualifications.
10.In order to provide Qualifications Wales with effective regulatory powers, the Act gives functions to Qualifications Wales to regulate awarding bodies awarding qualifications in Wales, to focus on priority qualifications, to approve forms of qualification (which are then eligible for being provided to learners attending certain publicly funded courses), to designate other forms of qualification as eligible for use on those courses of learning, to restrict the number of certain forms of qualification that may be approved, to commission new forms of qualification where such a restriction is in place and to review qualifications and the qualification system.