233.Where provisions in Schedule 9 make straight forward amendments, including amendments consequential on the provisions in the rest of the Act, no commentary is offered.
234.Paragraph 11 amends section 1 of the Education (Fees and Awards) Act 1983. Section 1 of the Education (Fees and Awards) Act 1983 gives a power to make regulations authorising certain categories of institutions to charge higher fees for overseas students than for home students. Without this authority, an institution which charged higher fees for overseas students than for home students might be in breach of the Race Relations Act 1976. The categories of institutions set out in section 1 of the Education (Fees and Awards) Act 1983 include an institution within the FE sector and an institution which provides further education and which is “substantially dependent for its maintenance on public funds and either is specified in regulations or is of a class or description so specified”. The LSC and the CETW have powers to fund any provider of post-16 education and they may wish to provide such funding subject to a condition that fees charged to home students do not exceed a certain amount but with no conditions on fees charged to overseas students. An institution which receives funding subject to this condition need not necessarily be in the FE sector or be substantially dependent for its maintenance on public funds. Consequently, section 1 of the Education (Fees and Awards) Act 1983 is amended to include any institution which receives funding from the LSC or the CETW which is specified in or is of a class or description specified in regulations. The effect is that any institution which receives funding from the LSC or the CETW subject to the conditions described above will be able to comply with the conditions without any danger of being in breach of the Race Relations Act 1976.
235.This amendment is most likely to be relevant to institutions providing dance and drama courses. Financial assistance is currently given to these institutions directly by the Secretary of State but in the future it is intended that financial assistance for most courses should be given by the LSC and the CETW.
236.At present, the Secretary of State secures work-based training provision via TECs under section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1973. Under section 26 of the Employment Act 1988, he has powers to ensure that individuals receiving allowances in respect of that training should not be considered employed simply by virtue of those allowances and that those allowances are not to be treated as income for tax purposes or with respect to social security benefits. In the future, the LSC and CETW will be responsible for securing work-based training provision and will have the power to pay allowances to individuals under sections 5(1)(c) and 34(1)(c). Paragraph 14 allows the Secretary of State to make similar provision to the effect that the individuals concerned are not to be considered as employed simply by virtue of their training allowances.
237.Paragraph 15 makes provision to bring the description of HE corporations’ powers in respect of companies under the Education Reform Act 1988 into line with those of the LSC and CETW under sections 18 and 46 of this Act and those of FE corporations (see paragraph 22).
Schedule 9: Amendments