The Assembly Learning Grants and Loans (Higher Education) (Wales) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2007

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Assembly Learning Grants and Loans (Higher Education) (Wales) Regulations 2006 (“the 2006 Regulations”) and the Assembly Learning Grants and Loans (Higher Education) (Wales) Regulations 2007 (“the 2007 Regulations”).

Changes are made to the corresponding provisions of the Regulations as follows —

Amendments to the 2006 Regulations

Typographical errors in regulation 2(1A) of the English text of the 2006 Regulations together with typographical errors in regulations 55(3)(ba) and paragraph 1(4)(ch) of Schedule 1 of the Welsh text of the same Regulations are dealt with in Part 2 of these Regulations.

Amendments to the 2007 Regulations

The 2007 Regulations provide for support for students taking designated higher education courses in respect of an academic year beginning on or after 1 September 2007.

These Regulations amend the 2007 Regulations to make provision for the payment of support to students who are undertaking designated distance learning courses. A designated distance learning course is a course which has been designated under the new regulation 61C by the Welsh Ministers (regulation 18).

The support payable to eligible distance learning students is set out in the new regulations 61E (grant in respect of fees and grant in respect of books, travel and other expenditure) and 61H (disabled distance learning students' allowance). Disabled distance learning students' allowance will be paid to students undertaking full-time distance learning courses under the new regulation 61H rather than under regulation 24 of the 2007 Regulations.

Students previously in receipt of a grant for disabled students' living costs in connection with undertaking but not attending a designated course will have their status as eligible students converted to that of eligible distance learning students in accordance with the new regulation 61M. This provision will also apply to students who were previously determined to be eligible students but who did not qualify for support solely because they were not in attendance on a designated course.

These Regulations make various additional consequential amendments to the 2007 Regulations in light of the introduction of the provision of support for eligible distance learning students.

These Regulations also amend regulation 16 of the 2007 Regulations to make clear that an old system student attending a course at Guildhall School of Music and Drama or Heythrop College cannot qualify for a grant for fees which exceeds the actual fees payable by him or her (regulation 15).

These Regulations also amend regulation 30 of the 2007 Regulations to clarify that an eligible student may qualify for a grant for dependants where the relevant dependant is dependent on him or her, or him or her and his or her partner together (regulation 17).

Provision is also made to enable certain part-time students qualify for disabled part-time students' allowance during the course of an academic year (regulation 21).