Schedules Schedule 1: The Office for Students
Paragraph 1 states that the OfS is separate and distinct from, and is not working on behalf of, the Crown. It also provides that property of the OfS does not belong to, nor is being held by the OfS on behalf of, the Crown.
	Paragraph 2(1) states that the members of the OfS are a chair, the Chief Executive Officer, the Director for Fair Access and Participation, and between seven and 12 other members, referred to as ordinary members. These members are appointed by the Secretary of State.
	Paragraph 2(2) sets out the Secretary of State’s duty, in appointing the chair and ordinary members of the OfS, to have regard to the desirability of their having a range of experience. At least one member of the OfS must have experience of representing or promoting the interests of individual students or students generally. Civil servants may not be appointed as members of the OfS.
	Paragraph 3 provides that the Director for Fair Access and Participation is responsible for overseeing the performances of the OfSʹs access and participation functions, performing any such functions (or any other functions) which are delegated to that Director, and reporting to the other members of the OfS on the performance of those functions. The Director may also report to the other members on measures taken to comply with the OfS’s duty under section 2(1)(d) to have regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity etc.
	Paragraphs 4 and 5 explain how terms and conditions of appointment for members are set and enables the Secretary of State to remove a member on specified grounds.
	Paragraph 6 places a duty on the OfS to pay salaries, pensions, allowances, expenses or gratuities to OfS members as determined by the Secretary of State. It also provides that if someone ceases to be a member of the OfS, the OfS must pay any compensation determined by the Secretary of State.
	Paragraph 7 empowers the OfS to appoint and pay staff, determining their pay, terms and conditions, allowances, expenses, pensions and gratuities, subject to the approval of the Secretary of State. Provision is also made for payments to former employees by the OfS with the approval of the Secretary of State. The OfS is a body in Schedule 1 to the Superannuation Act 1972 and must pay the Minister for the Civil Service for any increase in sums provided by Parliament which are attributable to its inclusion in that Act.
	Paragraph 8 gives the OfS powers to establish committees and subcommittees and sets conditions for appointing committee members, paying allowances and reviewing the structure and activities of the committees and subcommittees.
	Paragraph 9 states that the OfS may determine its own procedures and the procedures of any of its committees. The quorum for a meeting of the OfS is half the number of its members. The Secretary of State (or a representative) is entitled to attend any meeting of the OfS or its committees. The Secretary of State or representative must, on request, be provided with papers and be able to participate in those meetings. However, the Secretary of State (or representative) may not be involved in decision-making at those meetings.
	Paragraph 10 states that the proceedings of the OfS or any of its committees are not rendered invalid by a vacancy or defective appointment.
	Paragraph 11 enables the OfS to delegate functions, as it determines, to individual members of the OfS, OfS employees or committees. But access and participation functions may be delegated only to the Director for Fair Access and Participation.
	Paragraph 12(1) requires the OfS to maintain a record of its financial accounts and clear records of the information that underpins them. It also requires that the OfS sets out an annual statement of its accounts for each financial year.
	Paragraph 12(2) requires that the OfS’s annual statement of accounts should adhere to instructions provided to it by the Secretary of State and HM Treasury. Instructions may relate to the content and form of the annual statement, the methodology, and any extra information that it has been deemed necessary to provide to Parliament.
	Paragraph 12(3) requires the OfS to send a copy of the annual financial statement to the Secretary of State and the Comptroller and Auditor General – the head of the National Audit Office, which is the organisation that scrutinises the spending of public bodies – before the end of August that follows the financial year to which the financial statement relates.
	Paragraph 12(4) requires the Comptroller and Auditor General to scrutinise the OfS’s statement of accounts, to certify it and report on it. This report and a certified statement must be sent to the Secretary of State.
	Paragraph 12(5) requires the Secretary of State to provide a copy of the Comptroller and Auditor’s report on the OfS’s statement of accounts and certified statement to Parliament.
	Paragraph 12(6) defines the first financial year as the period of time from the date that the OfS is set up to the second 31 March following that date. Each subsequent period of 12 months from that point on constitutes a new financial year.
	Paragraph 13 deals with the annual report. The OfS must produce a report that covers the period of a financial year and which provides a commentary on its functions during that period. The report must include a statement on how the OfS has cooperated with UKRI during that financial year. The report must include the annual statement of accounts referred to in paragraph 12(1). If, for any reason, the OfS does not delegate all of the access and participation functions to the Director for Fair Access and Participation during a financial year, then the OfS must report this and set out the period or periods of time during which the access and participation functions were not delegated to the Director and the reasons why these functions were not delegated. The OfS must produce the annual report as soon as possible after the end of the financial year to which it relates. The OfS must send the report to the Secretary of State who must lay it before Parliament.
	Paragraph 14 sets out that on those occasions where the OfS’s seal is being applied, this needs to have been authorised by the signature of the chair of the OfS or of another authorised person and one other member. A document executed in this manner is to be received as evidence and taken as executed unless the contrary is shown.
	Paragraph 15 relates to the supplementary powers of the OfS. The OfS may do anything necessary or expedient in relation to its functions. The OfS may, in particular, acquire and dispose of land and property, enter into contracts and accept gifts or money, land and other property. This list is non exhaustive.
	Paragraph 16 inserts ‘Office for Students’ into Part 2 of the Table in paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 to the Public Records Act 1958. Any records produced by the OfS are treated as public records and are subject to the restrictions and principles governing public records.
	Paragraph 17 inserts ‘Office for Students’ into Schedule 2 to the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967. This means that the OfS is a body subject to investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (Parliamentary Ombudsman). This body is responsible for investigating the administrative actions of central government departments and public authorities.
	Paragraph 18 inserts ‘The Office for Students’ into Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975. That Act prohibits certain categories of people from becoming members of the House of Commons. The effect is that members of the OfS are prohibited from becoming members of the House of Commons and vice versa.
	Paragraph 19 inserts ‘The Office for Students’ into Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Northern Ireland Assembly Disqualification Act 1975. That Act prohibits certain categories of people from becoming members of the Northern Ireland Assembly. The effect is that members of the OfS are prohibited from becoming members of the Northern Ireland Assembly and vice versa.
	Paragraph 20 inserts ‘The Office for Students’ into Part 6 of Schedule 1 to the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This means that the OfS is a public body subject to the provisions of that Act, which sets out a framework for the public to have a right of access to information that is held by public authorities, subject to certain restrictions.
	Paragraph 21 inserts ‘The Office for Students’ under the heading ‘Other educational bodies’ in Part 1 of Schedule 19 to the Equality Act 2010, thus making the OfS a body subject to the provisions of that Act.