Intervention in the conduct of further education institutions
Section 69: Grounds for intervention and Section 70: Powers to intervene
223.Sections 69 and 70 replace the provisions previously set out in section 57 of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 relating to the Welsh Ministers’ powers of intervention for institutions in the further education sector in Wales.
224.Section 69 specifies the grounds that must be met in order for the Welsh Ministers to intervene in the conduct of a tertiary education provider in Wales that is an institution in Wales within the further education sector. See section 144 for an interpretation of these terms.
225.Section 70 makes provision for the way that the Welsh Ministers may intervene if one or more of the grounds for intervention set out in section 68 are met. The Welsh Ministers must consult with the Commission before exercising their intervention powers under this section.
226.Directions issued by the Welsh Ministers under section 70 are enforceable by injunction (see section 82).
Section 71: Notification by the Commission of grounds for intervention
227.This section places the Commission under a duty to notify the Welsh Ministers if it is of the view that any of the grounds for intervention specified in section 69 have been met (subsection (1)). The Welsh Ministers must have regard to the Commission’s view in deciding whether or not to exercise any of their intervention powers under section 70 (subsection (2)).
Section 72: Welsh Ministers’ statement on intervention powers
228.This section requires the Welsh Ministers to publish and keep under review a statement on how they propose to exercise their intervention functions under section 70 (subsection (1)). The Welsh Ministers must consult such persons as they consider appropriate before publishing the statement, or revised statement, and lay a copy before the Senedd as soon as possible after it is published.
