Part 4: Miscellaneous and General Chapter 1: Cheating Services Provided for Post-16 Students at English Institutions Section 26: Meaning of "relevant service" and other key expressions
Subsection (1) confirms that the definitions in this section apply throughout the chapter, in relation to the offence.
	Subsection (2) defines "relevant service". In order for an individual or body to be liable under the offence, they must complete all or some of the student’s work such that the work would not be considered the work of the student. This excludes generally accepted study support such as tutors, proof-reading and ordinary teaching practices from being covered by the offence, as even with the provision of such services the work would generally still be considered to have been completed by the student personally (taking into account the ordinary meaning of that phrase – see the extended meaning in relation to a relevant assignment at subsection (8)).
	Subsection (3) sets out what completing all or part of an assignment on behalf of a student includes. This includes circumstances where a student is provided with material in connection with the assignment which the student could use in completing the assignment or part of it (subsection (3)(a)) which has either been prepared specifically in connection with the assignment (subsection 3(b)(i)) or has not been published generally (subsection 3(b)(ii)). This covers: bespoke pieces of work and stock essays; and work which is written, dictated or copied.
	Subsection (4)(a) creates a presumption that where a student seeks the provision of a "relevant service", material provided as a result will be viewed as being provided in connection with the assignment (which is relevant for the purposes of subsection (3)). This means that, for example, where a student chooses an essay from a menu of available stock essays, this would be caught (provided the essays are not published generally (see subsection (4)(b) below). So, the provider need not in fact know about the assignment or what it is in order to meet the test in subsection (3).
	Subsection (4)(b) sets out what is considered to be "material published generally" (which is not covered by the offence). This is material which is available publicly and free of charge, for example study aids on websites such as BBC Bitesize; also material that is published widely for purchase and educational use, and which includes other educational or training material, such as revision guides. The offering of a menu of available essays which must be paid for, for example, would not be considered "‘material published generally’" since it does not include other educational or training material.
	In order for the offence to be committed, the relevant service must be provided, or arranged, "in commercial circumstances". Subsection (5) sets out the conditions in which "commercial circumstances" apply. This covers: an organisation or individual which is providing or arranging the cheating services in the course of their business; and an individual who works independently who has been commissioned to provide the cheating services, by a person acting in the course of their own business or by a person acting in the course of their employer’s business. This allows for freelancers to be captured as well as employees and owners of companies providing cheating services.
	Subsection (6) defines the "student" to whom it is an offence to provide the services. That is those undertaking a relevant course at a post-16 institution or sixth form in England. Section 33 defines "post-16 institution" as a higher education provider, an institution within the further education sector, a 16-19 academy and any other institution or person, other than a school, that is principally concerned with the provision of education or training suitable to the requirements of pupils who are over compulsory school age. Sixth form is also defined in section 33. Subsection (6)(b) makes clear that the offence also applies to services provided to private candidates who are entered for a regulated qualification in England.
	Subsection (7) defines "relevant assignment" for the purposes of the offence. For an assignment to be in scope, it needs to be one that the student is required to complete by themselves as part of either the course they are on (for example a module in a chosen university course) or as part of a piece of work that leads to their overall final qualification. This drafting allows for homework to be in scope of the offence but excludes pieces of work that students have proactively decided to undertake themselves. It also allows for an assignment to be in scope of the offence where the assignment has been chosen by the student from a range of assignments set.
	Subsection (8) makes clear what is meant by the requirement that the student must complete a relevant assignment "personally". It includes the ordinary meaning, which is completing the assignment with assistance which is generally permitted, such as tutoring and legitimate proof-reading or copy-editing. It also has the extended meaning which is to include the circumstance where the assignment is completed with any assistance which is specifically permitted as part of the assignment (for example, where in relation to a specific assignment, a student is allowed assistance with writing due to injury or where a dissertation specifically allows for input by a tutor on a first draft). It further sets out that for the purposes of this chapter, that specific assistance is "permitted assistance".
	Subsection (9) explains that further definitions can be found in section 30.