Chapter 3 – Further enforcement and procedural provisions
20.Chapter 3 restates, with modifications, the existing power of the Welsh Ministers to intervene in the conduct of further education institutions in Wales where their governing bodies fail to comply with duties, act unreasonably or perform inadequately. It provides the Commission with a power to refer cases to the Welsh Ministers where it considers there are grounds for intervention. The existing power of the Welsh Ministers in section 57 of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 is repealed.
21.Provision is made for the Commission to give directions requiring the co-operation of certain tertiary education providers that are not registered providers, in so far as their activities are caught by Part 2. A power of entry and inspection is given to persons authorised by the Commission for the purpose of exercising Commission functions under Part 2.
22.The Chapter specifies requirements for warning notices to be given before the Commission gives directions in respect of failure to comply with conditions, notices of rejection of proposed fee limit statements (or of variations or replacements) or directions requiring the co-operation of certain providers that are not registered providers. The governing body of a provider given a warning notice is to have the right to apply for a review of the Commission’s proposed decision; and the review is to be conducted by a person, or panel of persons, appointed by the Welsh Ministers.
23.The Commission is placed under a duty to monitor and report on the financial sustainability of registered providers, and institutions in the further education sector that are funded by the Commission. And the Commission is placed under a duty to publish a statement on how it proposes to exercise its intervention functions under Part 2.
