Commentary on Sections Funding the Commission Section 85: Power of the Welsh Ministers to fund the Commission
264.This section allows the Welsh Ministers to provide funding to the Commission. It allows the Welsh Ministers to attach terms and conditions to such funding as they consider appropriate (including in relation to repayment of sums and payment of interest) subject to the limitations specified in section 86.
265.Terms and conditions applied to funding by the Welsh Ministers may require the Commission to enter into an “outcome agreement” with persons whom it proposes to fund. An outcome agreement is defined by this section. Outcome agreements are a means by which the Commission, through its funding decisions, will contribute to the discharge of its strategic duties (under sections 2 to 12) and the achievement of the Welsh Ministers’ strategic priorities for tertiary education and research.
266.The Commission’s strategic plan will set out how it intends to discharge its strategic duties and how it will address the Welsh Ministers’ priorities in the statement published by the Welsh Ministers under section 14. Outcome agreements will set out the activities that a provider agrees it will carry out in return for funding which will contribute to the implementation of the Commission’s approved strategic plan.
267.The Welsh Ministers may impose terms and conditions requiring the Commission to enter into outcome agreements in all cases where it provides funding. Alternatively, the Welsh Ministers may require the Commission to enter into an outcome agreement where the Commission proposes to fund particular activities, types of provider or specified amounts of financial support. For example, the Welsh Ministers may require that outcome agreements apply to all courses of higher and further education, or only to certain specified courses but not in cases where the volume of provision is small and funding falls below a specified amount.