The Education (Student Support) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2021

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend—

(a) the Education (Student Support) (Wales) Regulations 2017 (“the 2017 Regulations”),

(b) the Education (Student Support) (Wales) Regulations 2018 (“the 2018 Regulations”),

(c) the Education (Postgraduate Doctoral Degree Loans) (Wales) Regulations 2018 (“the Doctoral Regulations”), and

(d) the Education (Student Support) (Postgraduate Master’s Degrees) (Wales) Regulations 2019 (“the Master’s Regulations”).

The 2017 Regulations provide for financial support for eligible students taking designated higher education courses which begin before 1 September 2018. The 2018 Regulations provide for financial support for eligible students taking designated higher education courses which begin on or after 1 September 2018.

Regulations 2 to 7 substitute the amounts and method of calculation in regulations 24, 71, 88, 110 and 117 of the 2017 Regulations concerning grants for disabled students’ living costs, grants for disabled distance learning students’ living costs, grants for disabled part-time students’ living costs and grants for disabled postgraduate students’ living costs.

Regulations 8 to 12 substitute the amounts and the method of calculation in regulation 63 of, and Schedule 4 to, the 2018 Regulations concerning disabled student’s grant and disabled postgraduate student’s grant. Regulation 12 removes a definition in Schedule 7 to the 2018 Regulations that is no longer required.

Regulations 13 to 25 substitute figures in regulations 16, 19, 26, 27, 28, 43, 45, 50, 56, 91, 92 and 93 of the 2017 Regulations concerning grants and loans for tuition fees and loans for living costs for full-time students and grants for dependants for both full and part-time students.

Regulations 26 to 34 substitute figures in regulations 55, 56, 57, 58, 58A, 72, 74 and 76 of the 2018 Regulations concerning maintenance loans and grants for dependants for both full-time and part-time students.

The Doctoral Regulations provide for financial support for eligible students undertaking designated postgraduate doctoral degree courses. Regulation 36 substitutes figures in regulation 13 of the Doctoral Regulations concerning the amount of postgraduate doctoral degree loan.

The Master’s Regulations provide for the making of grants and loans to eligible students undertaking designated postgraduate master’s degree courses which begin on or after 1 August 2019. Regulations 38 and 39 substitute figures in regulations 31 and 36 of the Master’s Regulations. Regulation 38 increases the maximum amount of contribution to costs loan available to eligible students and eligible prisoners. Regulation 39 increases the figures used to calculate the contribution to costs grant and contribution to costs loan payable to an eligible student when they cease to be an eligible prisoner.

Regulations 40 to 43 amend regulations 2 and 81 of, and Schedule 7 to, the 2017 Regulations. The amendments relate to the restrictions on the support available to part-time graduate students and are needed as result of the introduction of a new version of the Common Aggregation Hierarchy. Regulations 44 to 47 make equivalent amendments to regulation 25 of, and Schedules 5A and 7 to, the 2018 Regulations.