Date Legislation considered: 31 March 2023
Date Legislation in Force: 22 February 2023
Potential Right(s) Affected: Residence/Discrimination/Equal Treatment
What does the legislation do?
The Education (Student Finance) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2023 (“the Regulations”) amend the eligibility categories in the following regulations:
- the Education (Fees and Awards) (Wales) Regulations 2007
- the Education (European University Institute) (Wales) Regulations 2014
- the Higher Education (Qualifying Courses, Qualifying Persons and Supplementary Provision) (Wales) Regulations 2015
- the Education (Student Support) (Wales) Regulations 2017
- the Education (Student Support) (Wales) Regulations 2018
- the Education (Postgraduate Doctoral Degree Loans) (Wales) Regulations 2018,
- the Education (Student Support) (Postgraduate Master’s Degrees) (Wales) Regulations 2019.
Parts 2 to 8 of the amendment regulations make 3 key changes:
– Amending the above regulations so that family members of persons settled in the UK are also eligible (which before was only available to family members of UK Nationals),
– Amending the above regulations so that persons who have settled status in the UK, and those covered by the Withdrawal Agreement and EEA EFTA Separation Agreement (“the Agreements”), who come from specified British Overseas Territories (which includes Gibraltar) to study in Wales will be eligible for undergraduate tuition fee support and postgraduate support from academic year 2023 to 2024. These changes give additional entitlement; they do not affect people with citizens’ rights under the Agreements whose rights were already in place and are not affected. – Amending the above regulations so that persons with protected rights under the Agreements will be able to count periods of residence in specified EU Overseas Territories as part of the normal three-year qualifying period for eligibility for tuition fee support and postgraduate support.
The amendments only change the category of eligibility for students in EU related categories to extend them as outlined above. The other changes relate to amendments to the amounts and calculations of awards.
Comments
The IMA raises no issues of concern, however any citizen experiencing difficulties in exercising their rights are encouraged to report a complaint through the IMA Portal.
Further information about the IMA and guidance on how to report complaints can also be found on the Website.