The Education Authority Bursaries and Students' Allowances (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 1997

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Education Authority Bursaries (Scotland) Regulations 1995 and the Students' Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 1996 in relation to the criteria of eligibility for payment of awards.

The eligibility of European Economic Area (EEA) migrant workers is dealt with in a substituted paragraph 2 of Schedule 1 to both sets of Regulations (regulation 2(a) and (c) and 3(a) and (c). The new provision ensures that UK nationals who have been employed in the EEA as migrant workers have precisely the same entitlement to awards when they return to the UK as migrant workers who are nationals of other member states of the EEA. Specific provision is also made in new paragraphs 2A and 2B of that Schedule for the eligibility of the spouse and child of an EEA migrant worker.

A further criterion of eligibility has been added to paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to both sets of Regulations to the effect that a person eligible for an award in terms of that paragraph must also be settled in the UK within the meaning of the Immigration Act 1971 on the relevant date (regulations 2(b) and 3(b). Settlement is defined in the 1971 Act as being ordinary residence in the UK without being subject under the immigration laws to any restriction on the period for which the person in question may stay. As a consequence of this amendment, separate provision is now made for persons granted leave by the Home Office to enter or remain in the UK (regulations 2(e) and 3(e)).

The Regulations also make a few minor and consequential amendments.