The Education (Postgraduate Master's Degree Loans) (Wales) Regulations 2017

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations provide for the making of loans to students who are ordinarily resident in Wales for postgraduate master's degree courses which begin on or after 1 August 2017.

To qualify for a loan a student must be an “eligible student”. Broadly, a person is an eligible student if that person falls within one of the categories listed in Part 2 of Schedule 1 and also satisfies the eligibility provisions in Part 2 of the Regulations.

These Regulations apply to students ordinarily resident in Wales wherever they study on a designated course in the United Kingdom. For the purposes of these Regulations a person who is ordinarily resident in Wales, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man as a result of having moved from one of those areas for the purpose of undertaking a designated course is considered ordinarily resident in the place from which that person has moved (Schedule 1, paragraph 1(3)). An eligible student must also satisfy any requirements elsewhere in the Regulations. A loan is only available under these Regulations in respect of “designated” courses.

Part 2 deals with eligibility. Regulation 3 sets out who can be considered an eligible student for the purposes of a postgraduate master's degree loan. Regulation 4 sets out which courses are deemed designated courses for which an eligible student can receive a loan. Regulation 5 sets out when a student ceases to be considered an eligible student. Regulation 6 recognises that an eligible student may transfer to another course in certain circumstances. Regulations 7 and 8 set out the circumstances in which a student may qualify for a postgraduate master's degree loan after the designated course has started.

Part 3 deals with the formalities of how an eligible student applies for a loan, including the application deadlines.

Part 4 deals with the loan itself. Regulations 12 and 13 provide that the maximum loan amount an eligible student can receive is £10,280, other than in the case of an eligible prisoner, where the maximum amount is the value of the fees of the designated course. Regulation 13 gives the Welsh Ministers the power to pay any loan in instalments and provides that payments are made directly to the student's bank account, other than in the case of an eligible prisoner where the payment is made to the institution to which the prisoner is liable to make payment for the fees or to a third party. Regulation 14 gives the Welsh Ministers the power to make payment of the loan conditional upon the student providing them with a national insurance number. Regulation 15 enables the Welsh Ministers to cease further loan payments if they receive notice of a student's lack of attendance on the course, other than where they consider it appropriate to make such payments during the student's absence.

Regulation 16 sets out how loan entitlement amounts change when an eligible student becomes an eligible prisoner and vice versa. Regulation 17 sets out how the Welsh Ministers can recover any overpayments of a postgraduate master's degree loan. Regulation 18 gives the Welsh Ministers the power to require a student to enter into a repayment agreement.

Part 5 deals with information requirements.

The Welsh Ministers' Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, a regulatory impact assessment has been prepared as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations. A copy can be obtained from the Higher Education Division, Welsh Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NQ.