Commentary on Sections General Section 147 and Schedule 4: Minor and consequential amendments
450.Schedule 4 (introduced by section 147) sets out the minor and consequential amendments to existing legislation as affected by the Act.
451.Where a description as to the effect of the amendment is considered helpful it is included. Where an amendment has been described elsewhere in these explanatory notes, it is not described here; similarly, minor amendments such as changes in existing legislation from “the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales” to “the Commission for Tertiary Education” are not described.
452.Paragraph 1 amends section 8(4) of the Employment and Training Act 1973. It replaces reference to an institution falling within scope of section 91(5) of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 with reference to a tertiary education provider registered with the Commission to provide higher education, other than an institution which is also within the further education sector. It means that tertiary education providers registered with the Commission for the purpose of higher education (excluding institutions within the further education sector) are excluded from the Welsh Ministers’ duty to secure the provision of careers services for school and college students.
453.Paragraph 3 amends section 43(5)(aa) of the Education (No 2) Act 1986. It replaces “any institution other than a university within the higher education sector” with a reference to tertiary education providers registered with the Commission to provide higher education. It ensures that the duty to secure freedom of speech applies to universities, further education institutions and other tertiary education providers registered with the Commission for the purpose of providing higher education.
454.Paragraph 6, amongst other things, replaces subsections (5)(a) and (5)(aa) of section 91 of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 with a new subsection which amends the definition of what constitutes “an institution within the higher education sector” in relation to Wales. The effect is that tertiary education providers registered in a category specified in regulations for the purposes of being eligible to receive funding from the Commission for higher education or research or innovation (other than institutions within the further education sector) fall within the definition of being an institution within the higher education sector in relation to Wales.
455.Paragraph 13 amends the Care Standards Act 2000 so that tertiary education providers eligible for funding from the Commission for the purposes of higher education or research or innovation, and the Commission itself fall within scope of the Children’s Commissioner for Wales reviewing functions.
456.Paragraph 14(2) repeals sections 31 – 33 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000, which are the main duties on the Welsh Ministers in relation to post-16 education and training.
457.Paragraphs 14(3) to 14(17) amend sections 33A– 33E, 33G, and 33I – 33Q of that Act to give responsibility for the formation of local curricula for learners aged 16 – 19 to the Commission instead of the Welsh Ministers and make related amendments in consequence of this. The Welsh Ministers’ regulation and order-making powers and most of their guidance and direction powers related to local curricula are retained, but the amendments subject the exercise of those powers (other than the giving of directions) to a requirement to consult the Commission.
458.These amendments are as a consequence of the Commission’s responsibility for securing the provision of proper facilities for education and training for learners aged 16 to 19 (see section 93).
459.Paragraph 19 amends Schedules 2 and 3 to the Commissioner for Older People (Wales) Act 2006 so that tertiary education providers eligible for funding from the Commission for the purposes of higher education or research or innovation and the Commission itself fall within scope of the reviewing functions of the Commissioner for Older People under sections 3 and 5 of the Commission for Older People (Wales) Act 2006.
460.Paragraph 21(2) amends Schedule 4 to the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 so that inspections conducted by the Chief Inspector under the Tertiary Education and Research (Wales) Act 2022 are considered a regulated activity related to children for the purposes of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006.
461.Paragraph 25(3) amends section 43 of the Learning and Skills (Wales) Measure 2009 so as to require the Welsh Ministers to consult the Commission before giving guidance to head teachers of local authority maintained schools and principals of further education institutions about the exercise of their functions in respect of the provision of a learning pathways document to relevant students.
462.Paragraph 28 amends the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 to replace the reference to the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales in Schedule 6 to the Measure with a reference to the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research.
463.Paragraph 29 makes amendments to provisions of the School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013 concerned with school reorganisations.
464.These amendments include the Commission as a body whom the Welsh Ministers must consult on the draft of the Code (or revised Code) on school organisation and places a duty on the Commission, when exercising functions under Part 3 of that Act (school organisation) to act in accordance with any relevant requirements in the Code and have regard to any relevant guidelines in it.
465.The amendments remove the automatic requirement for approval by the Welsh Ministers of school organisation proposals affecting maintained school sixth form education, instead only requiring the approval of the Welsh Ministers where an objection to the proposals has been sent, in writing, to the proposer during the objection period (28 days beginning on the day the proposals were published) and has not been withdrawn in writing within 28 days following the end of the objection period.
466.The amendments also take away the Welsh Ministers’ powers to make proposals to restructure local authority maintained school sixth form education, instead giving the Commission powers to restructure school sixth form education (new Chapter 3A of Part 3 on school organisation).
467.Those powers involve the Commission being able to direct, in certain circumstances, and in accordance with the Code, a local authority or a governing body of a foundation or voluntary school to bring forward proposals about local authority maintained school sixth form education.
468.The Commission will have power to make its own proposals following a direction by it, if the time for the local authority or governing body to make proposals has expired or they have published proposals. In the event of objections to proposals from the Commission, the matter has to be decided by the Welsh Ministers. Otherwise the Commission must determine whether they should be implemented.
469.These amendments are as a consequence of the Commission’s responsibility for securing the provision of proper facilities for education and training for learners aged 16 - 19 (see section 93).
470.Paragraph 30 amends section 162 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 which provides that a local authority must make arrangements to promote co-operation between the local authority, each of the authority’s ‘relevant partners’ and other bodies who are engaged in activities relevant to adults in need of care and support.
471.The Commission, and the Welsh Ministers, are each defined as a relevant partner to the extent they are exercising their functions under section 92, 93, 94, 95, 97 or 103(1) of the Act.
472.Paragraph 40 amends the Welsh Language Standards (No 6) Regulations 2017, replacing the reference to the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales in regulation 3(4) with the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research.