The Education (Student Support) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2018

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/1986) (“the Student Support Regulations”) to ensure that new eligible students starting pre-registration courses in dental profession subjects or postgraduate pre-registration courses from 1st August 2018 onwards may receive support under those Regulations.

The Education (Student Support) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/136) (the “Amendment Regulations”) were laid on 6th February 2018 and came into force on 27th February 2018. The Amendment Regulations made the same amendments to the Student Support Regulations as these Regulations. However, the Amendment Regulations were revoked by way of the Education (Student Support) (Revocation, Amendment and Saving Provision) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/434) (the “Revocation, Amendment and Saving Provision Regulations”) which were laid on 27th March 2018 and came into force on 28th March 2018. The Revocation, Amendment and Saving Provision Regulations included a saving provision for persons who had already made an application for support in respect of a dental profession subject or postgraduate pre-registration course, and whose applications had been received by the Secretary of State by the time those Regulations came into force. These Regulations apply to students not caught by the Revocation, Amendment and Saving Provision Regulations. Students falling under the saved provisions of the Amendment Regulations and falling under amendments made by these Regulations will be assessed according to the same rules.

The principal amendments which these Regulations make to the Student Support Regulations are as follows.

Regulation 3 amends the definition of “allied health profession subject” in regulation 2 of the Student Support Regulations to include dental profession subjects: dental hygiene, dental therapy and dental hygiene and dental therapy. Regulation 3 also amends the definition of “pre-registration course” in regulation 2 of the Student Support Regulations to include a reference to dental profession subjects and the General Dental Council. A course in a dental profession subject may be undertaken as a pre-registration course but not as a postgraduate pre-registration course. Regulation 3 inserts into regulation 2 of the Student Support Regulations a definition of a “postgraduate pre-registration course”.

Regulation 4 amends regulation 4 of the Student Support Regulations to provide that a person cannot be an eligible student in connection with a pre-registration course or a postgraduate pre-registration course if that person is already registered in respect of the profession to which the course leads. Regulation 4 also amends regulation 4 of the Student Support Regulations to provide that a person cannot be an eligible student in connection with a postgraduate pre-registration course unless that person begins the course on or after 1st August 2018 or transfers from a postgraduate pre-registration course starting before 1st August 2018 in certain specified circumstances.

In addition, a person who has received support under Part 4, 5 or 6 of the Student Support Regulations in connection with a previous postgraduate pre-registration course where the person has achieved a qualification cannot be an eligible student in connection with a second postgraduate pre-registration course. Nevertheless, if that person has a disability, they may be eligible to receive a disabled students’ allowance under Part 12 of the Student Support Regulations.

Regulation 6 amends regulation 12 of the Student Support Regulations so that years of study on previous courses are disregarded when calculating fee loan entitlement for a current full-time pre-registration undergraduate course in a dental profession subject beginning on or after 1st August 2018 or a current full-time postgraduate pre-registration course beginning on or after that date.

Regulations 7 and 8 amend, respectively, regulations 13 and 69 of the Student Support Regulations so that students may qualify for support for a full-time undergraduate pre-registration course in a dental profession subject beginning on or after 1st August 2018, or a full-time postgraduate pre-registration course beginning on or after that date, even if they hold a previous qualification that is equivalent or higher in level than their current course.

Regulation 9 amends regulation 81 of the Student Support Regulations to clarify that time spent undertaking clinical training on a full-time pre-registration course or a postgraduate pre-registration course beginning on or after 1st August 2018 is to be taken into account when calculating the amount of long courses loans.

Regulation 10 amends regulation 137 of the Student Support Regulations to provide that a person cannot be an eligible part-time student in connection with a pre-registration course if that person is already registered in respect of the profession to which the course leads.

Regulation 11 amends regulation 139 of the Student Support Regulations to provide that a postgraduate pre-registration course is not a designated part-time course.

Regulation 12 amends regulation 144 of the Student Support Regulations so that students may qualify for support for a part-time undergraduate pre-registration course in a dental profession subject beginning on or after 1st August 2018 even if they hold a previous qualification that is equivalent or higher in level than their current course.

Regulation 13 amends regulation 161 of the Student Support Regulations to provide that a postgraduate pre-registration course is not a designated postgraduate course.

The amendment made by regulation 14 to Schedule 2 to the Student Support Regulations ensures that postgraduate pre-registration courses may be designated courses for the purposes of section 22 of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998.

The Explanatory Memorandum to these Regulations sets out how to obtain hard copies of the registers mentioned in regulation 3.

An impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as it has no impact on the costs of business, charities or the voluntary sector.