The Education (Postgraduate Master’s Degree Loans) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2018

Welsh Statutory Instruments

2018 No. 277 (W. 53)

Education, Wales

The Education (Postgraduate Master’s Degree Loans) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2018

Made

27 February 2018

Laid before the National Assembly for Wales

7 March 2018

Coming into force

19 April 2018

The Welsh Ministers, in exercise of the powers conferred on the Secretary of State by sections 22 and 42(6) of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998(1), and now exercisable by them(2), make the following Regulations:

Title, interpretation, commencement and application

1.—(1) The title of these Regulations is the Education (Postgraduate Master’s Degree Loans) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2018.

(2) In these Regulations, “the 2017 Regulations” means the Education (Postgraduate Master’s Degree Loans) (Wales) Regulations 2017(3).

(3) These Regulations come into force on 19 April 2018.

(4) These Regulations apply only in relation to the provision of support to students in respect of a course which begins on or after 1 August 2018, whether anything done under the 2017 Regulations is done before, on or after 1 August 2018.

Amendment of the 2017 Regulations

2.  The 2017 Regulations are amended in accordance with regulations 3 and 4.

3.  In regulation 4 (designated courses), for paragraph (2) substitute—

“(2) For the purpose of paragraph (1)(a) the course must be one of the following—

(a) a full-time course of one or two academic years’ duration; or

(b) a part-time course which is ordinarily possible to complete in up to four academic years.”

4.  In regulation 12 (amount of postgraduate master’s degree loan), in both places where it occurs for “£10,280” substitute “£13,000”.

Kirsty Williams

Cabinet Secretary for Education, one of the Welsh Ministers

27 February 2018

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Education (Postgraduate Master’s Degree Loans) (Wales) Regulations 2017 (“the 2017 Regulations”), which provide for the making of loans to students who are ordinarily resident in Wales undertaking postgraduate master’s degree courses that begin on or after 1 August 2017.

Regulation 3 amends the maximum duration of a part-time course if it is to be capable of being designated for the purposes of the 2017 Regulations.

Regulation 4 increases the amount of loan available.

The amendments apply only to the provision of loans in respect of a course beginning on or after 1 August 2018.

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 was amended by the Learning and Skills Act 2000 (c. 21), section 146 and Schedule 11, the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (c. 1), Schedule 6, the Finance Act 2003 (c. 14), section 147, the Higher Education Act 2004 (c. 8), sections 42 and 43 and Schedule 7, the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 (c. 22), section 257 and the Education Act 2011 (c. 21), section 76 and S.I. 2013/1881. See section 43(1) of the Teaching and Higher Act 1998 for the definition of “prescribed” and “regulations”.

(2)

The Secretary of State’s functions in section 22(2)(a) to (i) and (k) 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), with subsections (a), (c) and (k) being exercisable concurrently with the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State’s functions in section 42 was transferred, in so far as exercisable in relation to Wales, to the National Assembly for Wales by the National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 1999, article 2, Schedule 1 (S.I. 1999/672). The functions of the National Assembly for Wales were transferred to the Welsh Ministers under paragraph 30 of Schedule 11 to the Government of Wales Act 2006 (c. 32).

(3)

S.I. 2017/523 (W. 109), amended by S.I. 2017/712 (W. 169).