Decision details
Motion to agree the financial resolution in respect of the Higher Education (Wales) Bill
Decision Maker: Children, Young People and Education Committee - Fourth Assembly, Business Committee - Fourth Assembly, Plenary - Fourth Assembly
Is Key decision?: Yes
Purpose:
A
Government Bill, introduced by Huw Lewis, Minister for Education and
Skills. The Business Committee remitted
the Bill to the Children,
Young People and Education Committee.
About the Bill
The
Higher Education (Wales) Bill seeks to legislate to:
- ensure robust and proportionate regulation
of institutions in Wales whose courses are supported by Welsh Government
backed higher education grants and loans;
- safeguard the contribution made to the
public good arising from the Welsh Government’s financial subsidy of
higher education;
- maintain a strong focus on fair access
to higher education; and
- preserve and protect the institutional
autonomy and academic freedom of universities.
The
Bill seeks to achieve these objectives through:
- establishing a new regulatory framework
applicable to all providers of higher education in Wales which seek
automatic designation of their higher education courses for the purpose of
student support;
- ensuring the new regulatory controls do
not rely on HEFCW providing funding to those institutions and providers;
- requiring all higher education providers
that benefit from the Welsh Government’s financial subsidy in the form of
statutory student fee loans or grants to have charitable status;
- requiring all higher education providers
whose courses are automatically designated for statutory student support
to commit to activity in support of equality of access to higher
education; and
- building, as far as possible, on the
existing system of controls established by HEFCW under its terms and
conditions of funding.
Current Stage
The
Higher Education (Wales) Act 2015 (external website) became law in Wales on 12 March 2015
(external website).
Welsh
Glossary (Only available in Welsh) (PDF, 123KB)
Record of Passage in the
National Assembly for Wales
The
following table sets out the dates for each stage of the Bill’s passage through
the National Assembly for Wales.
Stage |
|
Bill introduced – 19 May 2014 |
|
Stage 1 - Committee
consideration of general principles |
The
Committee considered the Bill on the following dates: Committee Stage 1 Report (PDF, 642KB) Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee report
(PDF, 713KB) Letter from the Minister for Education and Skills following the Stage 1 commitment to
provide drafts of regulations (PDF, 421KB) |
Stage 1 - Debate in plenary on general principles |
|
Financial Resolution |
|
Stage 2 - Committee
consideration of amendments |
Notices
of Amendments Notice of Amendments: 15 October 2014 (PDF, 65KB) Welsh Government - Purpose and Effect table: 15 October 2014
(PDF, 63KB) Notice of Amendments: 22 October 2014
(PDF, 76KB) Welsh Government - Purpose and Effect table: 22 October 2014
(PDF, 74KB) Notice of Amendments: 29 October 2014 (PDF, 100kb) Marshalled List of Amendments: 5 November 2014
(PDF, 126KB) Groupings of Amendments: 5 November 2014 (PDF,
61KB) Marshalled List of Amendments: 13 November 2014
(PDF, 107KB) Groupings of Amendments: 13 November 2014 (PDF,
64KB) Higher Education (Wales) Bill, as amended at Stage
2 (PDF, 217KB) Revised Explanatory Memorandum (PDF, 1.0MB) |
Stage 3 - Plenary consideration
of amendments |
Notices
of Amendments Notice of Amendments: 7 January 2015 (PDF, 85KB) Welsh Government - Purpose and Effect table: 7 January 2015
(PDF105KB) Notice of Amendments: 13 January 2015 (PDF, 100KB) Marshalled List of Amendments: 20 January 2015
(PDF, 113KB) Groupings of Amendments: 20 January 2015 (PDF,
63KB) Higher Education (Wales) Bill, as amended at Stage
3 (PDF, 237KB) |
Stage 4 - Passing of the Bill in
Plenary |
Higher Education (Wales) Bill, As Passed (PDF,
234KB) Higher Education (Wales) Bill, as passed (Crown
XML) |
Post-stage 4 |
The
Attorney General (PDF, 440KB), Counsel General (PDF, 141KB) and Secretary of State for Wales (PDF, 100KB) wrote to
the Chief Executive and Clerk of the Assembly to advise that they would not
be referring the Higher Education (Wales) Bill to the Supreme Court under
Sections 112 or 114 of the Government of Wales Act 2006. |
Date of Royal Assent |
Royal Assent (PDF, 50KB) was given on 12 March
2015. |
Contact information
This
bill has been remitted to the Children,
Young People and Education Committee
Clerk: Gareth Rogers
Deputy Clerk: Sarah Bartlett
Phone: 0300 200 6565
Email: SeneddCYPE@assembly.wales
Decision:
The item started at 17.16
NDM5596 Jane Hutt (Vale of Glamorgan)
To propose that the National Assembly for Wales,
for the purposes of any provisions resulting from the Higher Education (Wales) Bill,
agrees to any increase in expenditure of a kind referred to in Standing Order
26.69, arising in consequence of the Bill.
The motion was agreed in accordance with Standing
Order 12.36.
Publication date: 14/10/2014
Date of decision: 14/10/2014
Decided at meeting: 14/10/2014 - Plenary - Fourth Assembly