Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998

Part I — The teaching profession

Chapter I — The General Teaching Council for Wales

The General Teaching Council for Wales: aims and constitution

The General Teaching Council for England

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Functions of the General Teaching Council for Wales

Advisory functions of General Teaching Council for England

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Registration of teachers

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Regulations relating to registration

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Code of practice for registered teachers

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Disciplinary powers of Council in relation to registered teachers

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Additional and ancillary functions of Council

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Establishment of The General Teaching Council for Wales

The General Teaching Council for Wales

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Functions of the General Teaching Council for Wales

Functions of General Teaching Council for Wales: general

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Further functions of General Teaching Council for Wales in relation to teachers

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Supplementary

Registration requirement for teachers at schools

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Deduction of fees from salaries, etc

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Consultation about qualified teacher status

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Supply of information relating to teachers: general

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Supply of information relating to dismissal or resignation of teachers

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The General Teaching Council for Scotland

Duty to have regard to needs of disabled persons

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Representation of special educational needs teachers on General Teaching Council for Scotland

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Chapter II — HEAD TEACHERS

Qualifications of head teachers

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Chapter III — TEACHER TRAINING

Induction periods : teachers in Wales

Requirement to serve induction period

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Inspection of teacher training institutions

Inspection of institutions training teachers for schools

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Inspection of institutions training teachers for schools: Scotland

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In section 66 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 (inspection of educational establishments), after subsection (1A) there shall be inserted—

(1B) Notwithstanding subsection (1) above, the Secretary of State shall have power to cause inspection to be made of the education and training, wherever it is carried out, provided by institutions within the higher education sector (within the meaning of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992) wholly or mainly for persons preparing to be, or persons who are, teachers in schools, and such inspections shall be made by Her Majesty’s Inspectors or other persons appointed by the Secretary of State for the purpose.

Part II — Financial provision for higher and further education

Chapter I — ENGLAND AND WALES

Student support

New arrangements for giving financial support to students

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• (1) Regulations shall make provision authorising or requiring the Secretary of State to make grants or loans, for any prescribed purposes, to eligible students in connection with their undertaking—

• (a) higher education courses, or

• (b) further education courses,

which are designated for the purposes of this section by or under the regulations.

• (2) Regulations under this section may, in particular, make provision—

• (a) for determining whether a person is an eligible student in relation to any grant or loan available under this section;

• (b) prescribing, in relation to any such grant or loan and an academic year, the maximum amount available to any person for any prescribed purpose for that year;

• (c) where the amount of any such grant or loan may vary to any extent according to a person’s circumstances, for determining, or enabling the determination of, the amount required or authorised to be paid to him;

• (d) prescribing categories of attendance on higher education courses or further education courses which are to qualify for any purposes of the regulations;

• (e) for any grant under this section to be made available on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by, or determined by the Secretary of State under, the regulations, including terms and conditions requiring repayments to be made in circumstances so prescribed or determined;

• (f) requiring the making of payments in respect of any such grant to be suspended or terminated in any such circumstances;

• (g) prescribing requirements or other provisions, whether as to repayment or otherwise, which are for the time being to apply in relation to loans under this section (including requirements or other provisions taking effect during the currency of such loans so as to add to, or otherwise modify, those for the time being applying in relation to the loans);

• (h) authorising grants in respect of fees payable in connection with attendance on courses to be paid directly to institutions charging the fees;

• (i) requiring prescribed amounts payable to eligible students under loans under this section to be paid directly to institutions to whom those persons are liable to make payments;

• (j) modifying any enactment or instrument (whenever passed or made) so as to provide for the treatment, in connection with any calculation with respect to the income (however defined) of persons to whom grants or loans are made under this section, of amounts due from or payable to such persons under such grants or loans;

• (k) for appeals with respect to matters arising under the regulations (including provision for determining, or enabling the determination of, the procedure to be followed in connection with appeals).

• (3) The provision which may be made by virtue of subsection (2)(g) in relation to loans under this section includes provision—

• (a) for such loans to bear compound interest at such rates, and calculated in such manner, as may be prescribed from time to time;

• (b) for such loans to be repaid in such manner, at such times, and to such person or body as may be prescribed from time to time;

• (c) for the payment, in respect of amounts overpaid by borrowers, of interest at such rate, and calculated in such manner, as may be determined by the Secretary of State from time to time;

• (d) for a borrower not to be liable to make any repayment in respect of such a loan—

• (i) during such period as may be prescribed from time to time, or

• (ii) in such circumstances as may be so prescribed,

including provision for the cancellation of any further such liability of the borrower in any such circumstances;

• (e) with respect to sums which a borrower receives, or is entitled to receive, under such a loan after the commencement of his bankruptcy or the date of the sequestration of his estate.

• (f) with respect to the effect of bankruptcy upon a borrower’s liability to make repayments in respect of such a loan (whether the repayments relate to sums which the borrower receives, or is entitled to receive, before or after the commencement of the bankruptcy);

• (g) with respect to sums which a borrower receives, or is entitled to receive, under such a loan before or after a voluntary arrangement under Part 8 of the Insolvency Act 1986 or Part 8 of the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 (individual voluntary arrangements) takes effect in respect of the borrower;

• (h) excluding or modifying the application of Part 8 of that Act, or Part 8 of that Order, in relation to liability to make repayments in respect of such a loan (whether the repayments relate to sums which the borrower receives, or is entitled to receive, before or after a voluntary arrangement takes effect in respect of the borrower).

• (4) In relation to loans under this section—

• (a) the rates prescribed by regulations made in pursuance of subsection (3)(a) must be—

• (i) lower than those prevailing on the market, or

• (ii) no higher than those prevailing on the market, where the other terms on which such loans are provided are more favourable to borrowers than those prevailing on the market; and

• (b) such regulations may make provision, for the purpose of calculating the interest to be borne by such loans, for repayments by borrowers to be treated as having been made or received on such date or dates as may be prescribed by the regulations.

• (5) Regulations under this section may also make such provision as the Secretary of State considers necessary or expedient in connection with the recovery of amounts due from borrowers under loans under this section, including provision for—

• (a) imposing on employers, or (as the case may be) such other persons or bodies as may be prescribed, requirements with respect to—

• (i) the making of deductions in respect of amounts so due (or, in any prescribed circumstances, amounts assessed in accordance with the regulations to be so due) from emoluments payable to borrowers,

• (ii) the collection by other means of such amounts,

• (iii) the transmission of amounts so deducted or collected to the Secretary of State in accordance with directions given by him;

• (b) imposing on employers, or such other persons or bodies as may be prescribed, requirements with respect to the keeping and production of records for such purposes as may be prescribed;

• (c) imposing on borrowers requirements with respect to—

• (i) the provision of such information, and

• (ii) the keeping and production of such documents and records,

relating to their income as may be prescribed;

• (d) requiring the payment, by persons or bodies to whom requirements imposed in pursuance of any of paragraphs (a) to (c) apply, of—

• (i) penalties in cases of non-compliance with, or otherwise framed by reference to, such requirements, and

• (ii) interest in respect of periods when such penalties are due but unpaid;

• (e) requiring the payment by borrowers, in respect of periods when amounts due under their loans are unpaid, of—

• (i) interest (applied to such amounts at a rate calculated otherwise than in accordance with subsection (4)(a)), or

• (ii) both such interest and one or more surcharges (together with further interest in respect of periods when such surcharges are due but unpaid);

• (f) enabling the Secretary of State to require the reimbursement by borrowers of costs or expenses of any prescribed description incurred by him in connection with the recovery of unpaid amounts;

• (g) applying or extending with or without modification, for purposes connected with the recovery of amounts under regulations made by virtue of this subsection, any of the provisions of the Taxes Acts or of PAYE regulations;

• (h) determining the priority as between deductions falling to be made by virtue of paragraph (a)(i) and deductions falling to be made, from emoluments payable to borrowers, by virtue of other enactments (whenever passed).

• (6) In subsection (5)—

• (a) “employers” means persons who make payments of, or on account of, PAYE income, and

• (b) “the Taxes Acts” has the same meaning as in the Taxes Management Act 1970.

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• (8) For the purposes of subsection (4)(a) ... the Secretary of State shall have regard to such index of prices as may be specified in, or determined in accordance with, regulations under this section.

• (9) In subsection (4)(a) “the specified rate for low interest loans” means the rate for the time being specified by article 60G(3)(d) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001

• (10) Interest required to be paid, by virtue of subsection (5)(d), by regulations under this section shall be paid without any deduction of income tax and shall not be taken into account in computing any income, profits or losses for any tax purposes.

Transfer or delegation of functions relating to student support

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• (1) If the Secretary of State so determines, any function exercisable by him by virtue of regulations under section 22 shall, to such extent as is specified in his determination, be exercisable instead by such body as is so specified which is either—

• (a) a local authority ..., or

• (b) the governing body of an institution with which eligible students (within the meaning of such regulations) are undertaking courses.

• (2) A body by whom any function is for the time being exercisable by virtue of subsection (1) shall comply with any directions given by the Secretary of State as to the exercise of that function.

• (3) Where any function is so exercisable by a local authority, the functions shall be taken to be a function of that authority for the purposes of—

• (a) in the case of an authority which is not operating executive arrangements, section 101 of the Local Government Act 1972 (arrangements for discharge of functions by local authorities),

• (b) section 70 of the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 (contracting out of functions of local authorities), and

• (c) in the case of an authority which is operating executive arrangements, section 13 of the Local Government Act 2000 and accordingly—

• (i) if, or to the extent that, that function is the responsibility of the executive of that authority sections 14 to 16 and any regulations made under sections 17 to 20 of that Act shall apply; or

• (ii) if, or to the extent that, that function is not the responsibility of that executive section 101 of the Local Government Act 1972 shall apply

• (4) The Secretary of State may make arrangements for any person or body specified in the arrangements to exercise on his behalf, to such extent as is so specified, any function exercisable by him by virtue of regulations under section 22 (including any such function in relation to appeals).

• (5) Any arrangements made under subsection (4) shall not prevent the Secretary of State from exercising the function in question himself.

• (6) The Secretary of State may make provision for enabling appeals—

• (a) to be made with respect to such matters arising out of the exercise by any person or body of any function by virtue of subsection (1) or (4) as he may determine, and

• (b) to be so made to a person or body appointed by him for the purpose.

• (7) The Secretary of State may pay to any body or person by whom any function is exercisable by virtue of subsection (1) or (4)—

• (a) such amounts as he considers appropriate for the purpose of meeting expenditure incurred or to be incurred by that body or person—

• (i) in making grants or loans under section 22, or

• (ii) by way of administrative expenses,

in, or in connection with, the exercise of that function;

• (b) in a case where the function is exercisable by virtue of subsection (4), such remuneration as he may determine.

• (8) Any payment under subsection (7)(a) may be made subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary of State may determine; and any such conditions may in particular—

• (a) require the provision of returns or other information before any such payment is made;

• (b) relate to the use of the amount paid or require the repayment in specified circumstances of all or part of the amount paid.

• (9) The Secretary of State may pay to any person or body appointed by him under subsection (6) such remuneration or administrative expenses (or both) as he may determine.

• (10) In relation to any function which, by virtue of subsection (1) or (4), is exercisable to a specified extent, references in any other provision of this section to the exercise of that function are accordingly to its exercise to that extent.

• (11) In this section “executive” and “executive arrangements” have the same meaning as in Part II of the Local Government Act 2000.

Supply of information in connection with student loans

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• (1) This section applies to any information which is held—

• (a) by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue, or

• (b) by a person providing services to those Commissioners and in connection with the provision of those services.

• (2) Information to which this section applies may be supplied to—

• (a) the Secretary of State , the Welsh Ministers or the Department of Education for Northern Ireland,

• (b) any person or body acting on behalf of the Secretary of State , the Welsh Ministers or that Department under the delegation of functions provisions, or

• (c) any authority or governing body by whom any function of the Secretary of State , the Welsh Ministers or that Department is for the time being exercisable to any extent by virtue of the transfer of functions provisions,

for the purpose of enabling or assisting the recipient to exercise any function in connection with the operation of the student loans scheme.

• (2A) Information to which this section applies may also be supplied to—

• (a) the Welsh Ministers,

• (b) any person or body acting on behalf of the Welsh Ministers under section 23(4), or