Higher Education Act 2004

SupplementaryE+W

40Provision of informationE+W

(1)If so requested by the Director, the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the [F1Training and Development Agency for Schools] must provide the Director with any information which is in its possession and is reasonably required by the Director for the purposes of his functions.

[F2(1A)Subsection (1) does not apply to any information which the Higher Education Funding Council for England receives in its capacity as principal regulator (within the meaning of section 13 of the Charities Act 2006).

(1B)Subsection (1A) does not prevent the Higher Education Funding Council for England disclosing information to the Director under section 10A of the Charities Act 1993.]

(2)If so requested by the Higher Education Funding Council for England or the [F1Training and Development Agency for Schools], the Director must provide the Council or the Agency with any information which is in his possession and is reasonably required by either of those bodies for the purposes of its functions.

[F3(3)Subsection (2) does not apply to information which the Higher Education Funding Council for England requires for the purposes of its functions as principal regulator (within the meaning of section 13 of the Charities Act 2006).]

[F440AProvision of reports, information and advice by the relevant authority in relation to WalesE+W

(1)The relevant authority in relation to Wales must provide to the Welsh Ministers as soon as possible after the end of each financial year, a report on how the relevant authority has performed its functions during that year.

• For this purpose, “financial year” means a period of 12 months ending on 31 March.

(2)The Welsh Ministers may require the relevant authority either in a report under subsection (1) or in a special report, to report to them on such matters related to the promotion of equality of opportunity in connection with access to higher education and the promotion of higher education as the Welsh Ministers may specify.

(3)The relevant authority in relation to Wales—

(a)must provide the Welsh Ministers with such information and advice relating to the promotion of equality of opportunity in connection with access to higher education and the promotion of higher education as the Welsh Ministers may from time to time require;

(b)may provide the Welsh Ministers with such information or advice relating to the promotion of equality of opportunity in connection with access to higher education and the promotion of higher education as it thinks fit.

(4)The relevant authority in relation to Wales may, where it considers it appropriate to do so—

(a)identify good practice relating to the promotion of equality of opportunity in connection with access to higher education (whether full-time or part-time) and the promotion of higher education, and

(b)give advice about such practice to publicly-funded institutions.

• For this purpose, “publicly-funded institution” means any institution receiving grants, loans or other payments from the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales under section 65 of the 1992 Act or under section 86 of the 2005 Act.]

41Interpretation of Part 3E+W

(1)In this Part—

• “course” does not include any part-time or postgraduate course other than a course of initial teacher training;

• “the Director” has the meaning given by section 31(1);

• “English approved plan” has the meaning given by section 22(b);

• “fees”, in relation to undertaking a course, means fees in respect of, or otherwise in connection with, undertaking the course, including admission, registration, tuition and graduation fees but excluding—

  (a)

  fees payable to an institution for awarding or accrediting any qualification where the institution does not provide the whole or part of the course and is not a publicly-funded institution (as defined by subsection (2)),

  (b)

  fees payable for board or lodging,

  (c)

  fees payable for field trips (including any tuition element of such fees),

  (d)

  fees payable for attending any graduation or other ceremony, and

  (e)

  such other fees as may be prescribed—

  (i)

  in relation to England, by regulations made by the Secretary of State, or

  (ii)

  in relation to Wales, by regulations made by the Assembly;

• [F5 “ governing body ” is to be read in accordance with subsection (1A); ]

• “general provisions”, in relation to a plan, has the meaning given by section 33(4);

  [F6 “ institution ” includes any training provider (whether or not the training provider would otherwise be regarded as an institution); ]

• “plan” has the meaning given by section 22(a);

• “the relevant authority” has the meaning given by section 30(1);

• “Welsh approved plan” has the meaning given by section 22(b).

[F7(1A)In this Act any reference to the governing body of an institution—

(a)in relation to any institution except a training provider falling within paragraph (b), has the meaning given by section 90(1) of the 1992 Act, but subject to any provision made by virtue of section 90(2) of that Act, and

(b)in the case of a training provider who but for subsection (1) would not be regarded as an institution, means the training provider.]

(2)In subsection (1) “publicly-funded institution” means—

(a)any university or other institution receiving grants, loans or other payments under section 65 of the 1992 Act, or under [F8section 78 or 86 of the 2005 Act], any institution maintained by a [F9local authority ] in the exercise of their further and higher education functions, any institution receiving a recurrent grant towards its costs under regulations made under section 485 of the Education Act 1996 (c. 56) or any institution receiving financial resources under [F10section 61 or 100 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 or section] 34 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000 (c. 21);

(b)any institution within the higher education sector for the purposes of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992 (c. 37), any college of further education within the meaning of section 36(1) of that Act or any central institution within the meaning of section 135(1) of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 (c. 44);

(c)the Queen’s University of Belfast, the University of Ulster, a college of education in Northern Ireland within the meaning of Article 2(2) of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 (S.I. 1986/594 (N.I. 3)) or any institution providing in Northern Ireland further education as defined in Article 3 of the Further Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 (S.I. 1997/1772 (N.I. 15)).

[F11(3) In subsections (1) and (1A), “ training provider ” has the same meaning as in Part 3 of the 2005 Act. ]

[F12(4)In subsection (2)(a), “local authority” has the same meaning as in the Education Act 1996 (see section 579(1) of that Act).]