Office of Public Sector Information
PART II continued CHAPTER II continued
(5) In subsection (2) above, “the appropriate transferee” means—
(a) in relation to an institution conducted by a body corporate, that body; and
(b) in relation to an institution not so conducted, any persons specified in the order designating the institution as persons appearing to the Secretary of State to be trustees holding property for the purposes of that institution.
(6) Subject to subsection (7) below, where any persons so specified are the appropriate transferee for the purposes of subsection (2) above—
(a) any land or other property or rights transferred to them under this section shall be held by them on the trusts applicable under such trust deed relating to or regulating that institution (if any) as may be so specified or, if no such trust deed is so specified, on trust for the purposes of the institution; and
(b) they shall incur no personal liability by virtue of any liability so transferred, but may apply any property held by them on trust for the purposes of the institution in meeting any such liability.
(7) Subsection (6)(a) above shall not apply in relation to any land or other property or rights which immediately before the designation date in relation to the institution concerned were vested in the former assisting authority as trustees for any particular purposes or (as the case may be) for the general purposes of the institution.
(8) In this Act, “transfer date” means, in relation to an institution to which this section applies, the designation date in relation to that institution.
(1) There shall be established a body corporate to be known as the Universities Funding Council.
(2) The Council shall consist of fifteen members appointed by the Secretary of State, of whom one shall be so appointed as chairman.
(3) Not less than six and not more than nine of the members shall be persons appearing to the Secretary of State—
(a) to have experience of, and to have shown capacity in, the provision of higher education; and
(b) to be currently engaged in the provision of higher education;
and in appointing the remaining members the Secretary of State shall have regard to the desirability of including persons who appear to him to have experience of, and to have shown capacity in, industrial, commercial or financial matters or the practice of any profession.
(4) The Council shall be responsible, subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, for administering funds made available to the Council by the Secretary of State for the purpose of providing financial support for activities eligible for funding under this section.
(5) Those activities are—
(a) the provision of education and the undertaking of research by universities; and
(b) the provision of any facilities and the carrying on of any other activities by universities which their governing bodies consider it necessary or expedient to provide or carry on for the purpose of or in connection with education and research.
(6) The Council shall have power to make grants, subject to such terms and conditions as they think fit, to the governing body of any university in respect of expenditure incurred or to be incurred by them for the purposes of any activities eligible for funding under this section.
(7) In exercising their functions in relation to the provision of financial support for activities eligible for funding under this section the Council shall have regard to the desirability of not discouraging any university in respect of which grants are made under subsection (6) above from maintaining or developing its funding from other sources.
(8) The Council shall also have power—
(a) to keep under review activities eligible for funding under this section;
(b) to provide the Secretary of State, in such manner as he may from time to time determine, with such information and advice relating to activities eligible for funding under this section as they think fit;
(c) to provide, on such terms as may be agreed, such advisory services as the Department of Education for Northern Ireland or the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland may require in connection with the discharge of the Department’s functions relating to universities in Northern Ireland; and
(d) to undertake such other activities as the Council consider it necessary or expedient to undertake for the purposes of or in connection with the exercise of any of their functions under the preceding provisions of this section.
(9) The governing body of any university shall give the Council such information as the Council may require for the purposes of the exercise of any of their functions under this section.
(10) In this section “governing body” means, in relation to a university, the executive governing body which has responsibility for the management and administration of its revenue and property and the conduct of its affairs.
(1) There shall be established a body corporate to be known as the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council.
(2) The Council shall consist of fifteen members appointed by the Secretary of State, of whom one shall be so appointed as chairman.
(3) Not less than six and not more than nine of the members shall be persons appearing to the Secretary of State—
(a) to have experience of, and to have shown capacity in, the provision of higher education; and
(b) to be currently engaged in the provision of higher education;
and in appointing the remaining members the Secretary of State shall have regard to the desirability of including persons who appear to him to have experience of, and to have shown capacity in, industrial, commercial or financial matters or the practice of any profession.
(4) The Council shall be responsible, subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, for administering funds made available to the Council by the Secretary of State for the purposes of—
(a) providing financial support for activities eligible for funding under this section; and
(b) making payments in accordance with section 133 of this Act.
(5) The activities eligible for funding under this section are—
(a) the provision of education and the undertaking of research by institutions within the PCFC funding sector;
(b) the provision of any facilities and the carrying on of any other activities by such institutions which the governing bodies of those institutions consider it necessary or expedient to provide or carry on for the purpose of or in connection with education and research; and
(c) the provision by institutions maintained or assisted by local education authorities, other than universities, of prescribed courses of higher education.
(6) The following are to be treated for the purposes of this Act as institutions within the PCFC funding sector—
(a) any institution conducted by a higher education corporation; and
(b) any institution designated under section 129 of this Act as an institution eligible to receive support from funds administered by the Council.
(7) The Council shall have power—
(a) to make grants to the governing body of any institution within the PCFC funding sector in respect of expenditure incurred or to be incurred by them for the purposes of any activities eligible for funding under this section by virtue of subsection (5)(a) or (b) above; and
(b) to make grants to any local education authority or other persons in respect of expenditure incurred or to be incurred by them for the purposes of the provision as mentioned in subsection (5)(c) above of prescribed courses of higher education;
subject in each case to such terms and conditions as the Council think fit.
(8) In exercising their functions in relation to the provision of financial support for activities eligible for funding under this section the Council shall have regard to the desirability of not discouraging any institution within the PCFC funding sector in respect of which grants are made under subsection (7) above from maintaining or developing its funding from other sources.
(9) In exercising their functions in relation to the provision of financial support for activities eligible for funding under this section the Council shall have regard (so far as they think it appropriate to do so in the light of any other relevant considerations) to the desirability of maintaining what appears to them to be for the time being an appropriate balance in their support of such activities as between institutions concerned in those activities which are of a denominational character and other institutions so concerned.
(10) The Council shall also have power—
(a) to keep under review activities eligible for funding under this section;
(b) to provide the Secretary of State, in such manner as he may from time to time determine, with such information and advice relating to activities eligible for funding under this section as they think fit; and
(c) to undertake such other activities as the Council consider it necessary or expedient to undertake for the purposes of or in connection with the exercise of any of their functions under the preceding provisions of this section.
(11) Each of the following, that is to say—
(a) a local education authority;
(b) the governing body of any institution within the PCFC funding sector; and
(c) the governing body of any institution at which prescribed courses of higher education are currently or have at any time been provided;
shall give the Council such information as the Council may require for the purposes of the exercise of any of their functions under this section.
(12) For the purposes of subsection (9) above an institution is an institution of a denominational character if it appears to the Council that either—
(a) a majority of the members of the governing body of the institution are persons appointed to represent the interests of a particular religious denomination; or
(b) all or most of the property held for the purposes of the institution is held upon trusts which provide that, in the event of the discontinuance of the institution, the property concerned shall be held for, or sold and the proceeds of sale applied for, the benefit of a particular religious denomination.
(1) The Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council shall have power to make payments, subject to such terms and conditions as the Council think fit, to—
(a) any local education authority; and
(b) the governing body of any institution designated under section 129 of this Act;
in respect of relevant expenditure incurred or to be incurred by that authority or body of any class or description prescribed for the purposes of this section.
(2) In subsection (1) above “relevant expenditure” means—
(a) in relation to a local education authority, expenditure in making payments to or in respect of persons employed or formerly employed at an institution which provides or (in the case of an institution which has ceased to exist since the employment in question came to an end) formerly provided higher education or further education (or both); and
(b) in relation to the governing body of any institution so designated, expenditure in making payments to or in respect of persons employed or formerly employed at the institution.
(3) The reference in subsection (2)(a) above to higher education or further education (or both) shall be read, in the case of an institution which ceased to exist before the date on which section 120 of this Act comes into force, as a reference to further education within the meaning of section 41 of the 1944 Act as that section had effect immediately before that date.
(4) Each of the following, that is to say—
(a) a local education authority; and
(b) the governing body of any institution so designated;
shall give the Council such information as the Council may require for the purposes of the exercise of their power under subsection (1) above.
(1) The Secretary of State may by order confer or impose on either of the Funding Councils such supplementary functions as he thinks fit; and any such functions shall be treated—
(a) in the case of functions conferred or imposed on the Universities Funding Council, as functions under section 131 of this Act; and
(b) in the case of functions conferred or imposed on the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council, as functions under section 132 of this Act.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) above a function is a supplementary function, in relation to either of the Funding Councils, if it is exercisable for the purposes of—
(a) the exercise by the Secretary of State of functions of his under any enactment; or
(b) the doing by the Secretary of State of anything he has power to do apart from any enactment;
and it relates to, or to the activities of, institutions eligible for funding by that Council.
(3) The terms and conditions on which either of the Funding Councils make any grants or other payments may include in particular conditions—
(a) enabling the Council to require the repayment, in whole or in part, of sums paid by the Council if any other condition subject to which the sums were paid is not complied with; and
(b) requiring the payment of interest in respect of any period during which a sum due to the Council in accordance with any other condition remains unpaid;
but shall not relate to the application by the body to whom the grants or other payments are made of any sums derived otherwise than from the Council.
(4) Before exercising their discretion under section 131(6) or (as the case may be) section 132(7)(a) of this Act with respect to the terms and conditions to be imposed in relation to any grants each of the Funding Councils shall consult such of the following bodies as it appears to the Council to be appropriate to consult in the circumstances, that is to say—
(a) such bodies representing the interests of relevant institutions as appear to the Council to be concerned; and
(b) the governing body of any particular relevant institution which appears to the Council to be concerned.
(5) References in subsection (4) above to relevant institutions are references—
(a) in relation to consultations required to be carried out by the Universities Funding Council, to universities; and
(b) in relation to consultations required to be carried out by the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council, to institutions within the PCFC funding sector.
(6) Subject to subsection (7) below, the Secretary of State may make grants to each of the Funding Councils of such amounts and subject to such conditions as he may determine.
(7) The conditions subject to which grants are made by the Secretary of State to either of the Funding Councils shall not relate to the making of grants or other payments by the Council to any specified institution.
(8) In exercising their functions under this Part of this Act each of the Funding Councils shall comply with any directions given to them by the Secretary of State.
(9) Directions given for the purposes of subsection (8) above shall be given by order made by the Secretary of State.
(10) Neither of the Funding Councils shall be regarded as the servant or agent of the Crown or as enjoying any status, immunity or privilege of the Crown; and the property of either Council shall not be regarded as property of, or property held on behalf of, the Crown.
(11) An order under subsection (1) above may exclude the application of subsection (10) above to any extent specified in the order in relation to the exercise of any functions conferred or imposed by the order on either of the Funding Councils.
(12) Schedule 8 to this Act has effect with respect to each of the Funding Councils.
(13) In this section “the Funding Councils” means the Universities Funding Council and the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council; and the reference in subsection (2) above to institutions eligible for funding by either of those Councils is a reference—
(a) in relation to the Universities Funding Council, to universities; and
(b) in relation to the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council, to—
(i) institutions within the PCFC funding sector; and
(ii) institutions maintained or assisted by local education authorities, other than universities, at which prescribed courses of higher education are currently provided.
(1) The accounts of—
(a) any university;
(b) any higher education corporation; or
(c) any institution designated under section 129 of this Act as an institution eligible to receive support from funds administered by the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council;
shall be open to the inspection of the Comptroller and Auditor General.
(2) In the case of any higher education corporation or of any such institution as is mentioned in subsection (1)(a) or (c) above—
(a) the power conferred by subsection (1) above; and
(b) the powers under sections 6 and 8 of the [1983 c. 44.] National Audit Act 1983 (examinations into the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of certain bodies and access to documents and information) conferred on the Comptroller and Auditor General by virtue of section 6(3)(c) of that Act;
shall be exercisable only in, or in relation to accounts or other documents which relate to, any financial year in which expenditure is incurred by the corporation, or by the governing body of the institution in question, in respect of which grants are made to them under section 131 or 132 of this Act.
(1) In this section “NAB” means the company limited by guarantee registered under the Companies Acts 1948 to 1983 under the name of the National Advisory Body for Public Sector Higher Education.
(2) Notwithstanding anything in the memorandum of association of NAB, if upon the winding up or dissolution of NAB any property remains after the satisfaction of all its debts and liabilities the property shall be transferred to, and by virtue of this Act vest in, the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council.
(3) The Secretary of State may by order designate persons employed by NAB for transfer under this section to the employment of the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council on such date as may be specified in the order.
(4) The contract of employment between NAB and any person so designated who, immediately before the date so specified, is employed by NAB shall have effect from that date as if originally made between the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council and that person.
(5) Without prejudice to subsection (4) above—
(a) all NAB’s rights, powers, duties and liabilities under or in connection with a contract to which that subsection applies shall by virtue of this section be transferred to that Council on the date so specified; and
(b) anything done before that date by or in relation to NAB in respect of that contract or the employee shall be deemed from that date to have been done by or in relation to that Council.
(6) Subsections (4) and (5) above are without prejudice to any right of an employee to terminate his contract of employment if a substantial change is made to his detriment in his working conditions, but no such right shall arise by reason only of the change in employer effected by this section.
(7) An order under this section may designate a person either individually or as a member of a class or description of employees.
(1) Subject to subsection (9) below, this section applies to any disposal after 22nd July 1987—
(a) of land which, immediately before that date, was used or held for the purposes of any relevant institution; or
(b) of land which was obtained before that date for the purpose of being so used or held and had not before that date been appropriated to any other use.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) above, an institution is a relevant institution if it falls within section 121(2) or 129(3) of this Act.
(3) Except with the consent of the Secretary of State, no local education authority shall after the passing of this Act make a disposal to which this section applies; and if at any time after 22nd July 1987 and before the passing of this Act such an authority have made a disposal which would have been in contravention of the preceding provisions of this subsection if they had then been in force the same consequences shall follow as if those provisions had been contravened by that authority.
(4) Any consent for the purposes of subsection (3) above may be given either in respect of a particular disposal or in respect of disposals of any class or description and either unconditionally or subject to conditions.
(5) Any signification of consent, or of consent subject to specified conditions, given by the Secretary of State before the passing of this Act in respect of any disposal to which this section applies, shall be treated for the purposes of subsection (3) above as a consent, or a consent subject to those conditions, given under this section.
(6) This section has effect notwithstanding anything in section 123 of the [1972 c. 70.] Local Government Act 1972 (general power to dispose of land) or in any other enactment; and the consent required by this section shall be in addition to any consent required by subsection (2) of that section or by any other enactment.
(7) A disposal shall not be invalid or, in the case of a disposal which consists of a contract, void by reason only that it has been made or entered into in contravention of this section; and (subject to the provisions of section 201 of this Act) a person acquiring land, or entering into a contract to acquire land, from a local education authority shall not be concerned to enquire whether any consent required by this section has been given or complied with.
(8) In this section references to disposing of land include references to—
(a) granting or disposing of any interest in land;
(b) entering into a contract to dispose of land or to grant or dispose of any such interest; and
(c) granting an option to acquire any land or any such interest.
(9) This section does not apply to a disposal falling within subsection (8)(a) above if it is made in pursuance of a contract entered into, or an option granted, on or before 22nd July 1987.
(1) This section applies for the purpose of the construction of the following provisions of this Act—
(a) section 126(4)(a);
(b) section 130(3)(a); and
(c) section 137(1)(a).
(2) Where at any time any land is used for the purposes of an institution to which any of those provisions applies, any interest of a local education authority in that land subsisting at that time shall be taken for the purposes of that provision to be land held for the purposes of that institution (whether or not it is by virtue of that interest that the land is so used).
(1) It shall be the duty of every local education authority to prepare a scheme in accordance with this Chapter and submit it for the approval of the Secretary of State in accordance with section 140 of this Act.
(2) The scheme shall provide for—
(a) the determination in respect of each financial year of the authority, for each institution required to be covered by the scheme in that year, of the share to be appropriated for that institution in that year of the further and higher education budget of the authority for that year (referred to below in this Chapter, in relation to such an institution, as the institution’s budget share); and
(b) the delegation by the authority of the management of an institution’s budget share for any year to the governing body of the institution where such delegation is required or permitted by or under the scheme.
(3) The scheme shall also set out the principles and procedures to be applied by the authority in planning the educational provisions to be made by institutions required to be covered by the scheme.
(4) For the purposes of this Chapter, an institution is required to be covered in any financial year by a scheme made under this section by a local education authority if—
(a) it is an institution providing full-time education; and
(b) immediately before the beginning of that year it is, or at any time during that year it becomes, either—
(i) an institution maintained by that authority in exercise of their further ot higher educationm functions; or
(ii) a designated assisted institution dependent on assistance from that authority.
(5) In this Chapter—
(a) references to an institution in respect of which financial delegation is required for any financial year under a scheme under this section are references to an institution conducted by a governing body to whom the local education authority concerned are for the time being required by or under the scheme to delegate the management of the institution’s budget share for that year (and the governing body of such an institution are said to have a right to a delegated budget for the year);
(b) references to an institution which has a delegated budget are references to an institution conducted by a governing body to whom a local education authority have for the time being delegated the management of the institution’s budget share for any financial year in pursuance of such a a scheme (whether that delegation is required by the scheme or not); and
(c) any reference, in relation to an institution assisted by a local education authority, to the delegation by that authority to the governing body of that institution of the management of the institution’s budget share for any financial year shall be read as a reference to the making by that authority to that body of a grant in respect of the institution of an amount equal to that budget share.
(6) References to this Act to a designated assisted institution are references to an institution designated by or under regulations made under section 27 of the 1980 Act as an institution substanially dependent for its maintainance on assistance from local education authorities.
(7) For the purposes of this Part of this Act a designated assisted institution shall be regarded as dependent on assistance from a local education authority if it is assisted by the authority and either—
(a) it is not assisted by any other local eduction authority; or
(b) that authority provides a larger proportion than any other local education authority by whom the institution is assisted of the aggregate amount of the sums received by the governing body of the institution during any financial year by way of assistance from such authorities in respect of the expenses of maintaining the institution.
(1) A scheme prepared by a local education authority under section 139 of this Act shall be submitted to the Secretary of State on or before such date as the Secretary of State may by order direct, either generally or in relation to any local education authority, or any class or description of such authorities, specified in the order.
(2) In preparing a scheme under that section a local education authority shall—
(a) comply with any prescribed requirements with respect to the provisions to be included in any such scheme; and
(b) take into account any guidance given by the Secretary of State as to the provisions he regards as appropriate for inclusion in any such scheme.
(3) Guidance given by the Secretary of State for the purposes of subsection (2)(b) above—
(a) may be given generally or in relation to any particular local education authority or any class or description of such authorities; and
(b) shall be published in such manner as the Secretary of State thinks fit.
(4) Before preparing such a scheme a local education authority shall consult the governing body of every institution providing full-time education which is either—
(a) an institution maintained by the authority in exercise of their further or higher education functions; or
(b) a designated assisted institution dependent on assistance from the authority.
(5) Such a scheme shall not come into force until it has been approved by the Secretary of State or until such date as the Secretary of State may, in giving his approval, specify; and the Secretary of State may approve such a scheme—
(a) either without modifications or with such modifications as he thinks fit after consulting the authority concerned; and
(b) subject to such conditions as he may specify in giving his approval.
(6) If in the case of any local education authority either—
(a) the authority fail to submit a scheme as required by subsection (1) above; or
(b) it appears to the Secretary of State that a scheme submitted by the authority as required by that subsection is unsatisfactory and cannot be rendered satisfactory merely by modifying it;
he may, after consulting such persons as he thinks fit, impose a scheme making such provision of a description required to be made by a scheme under section 139 of this Act in the case of that authority as he considers appropriate.
(7) A scheme imposed by the Secretary of State by virtue of subsection (6) above—
(a) shall be treated as if made under section 139 by the local education authority concerned; and
(b) shall come into force on such date as may be specified in the scheme.
(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, a scheme may be replaced or varied by a subsequent scheme made under section 139 of this Act by the local education authority concerned.
(2) Section 139 shall apply for the purposes of a scheme replacing or varying a previous scheme with the omission of subsection (1); and subsection (1) of section 140 of this Act shall not apply in relation to such a scheme.
(3) A scheme prepared by a local education authority under section 139 which—
(a) replaces a previous scheme; or
(b) makes any significant variation of a previous scheme;
shall be submitted to the Secretary of State for his approval.
(4) A scheme under section 139 varying a previous scheme which is not required by subsection (3)(b) above to be submitted to the Secretary of State for his approval is referred to below in this section as a “minor variation scheme”.
(5) Subsections (4) and (5) of section 140 shall not apply in relation to a minor variation scheme.
(6) The Secretary of State may by order specify what descriptions of variation are to be regarded as significant for the purposes of subsection (3)(b) above.
(7) Where a local education authority propose to make a scheme under section 139 which in their opinion is a minor variation scheme, the authority shall notify the Secretary of State in writing of their proposal, giving brief particulars of the nature of the variations proposed to be made by the scheme.
(8) In any such case the authority shall, if so required by the Secretary of State before the end of the period of two months beginning with the date on which he receives notification under subsection (7) above of the authority’s proposal, send to him a copy of their proposed scheme; and it shall be for the Secretary of State to determine whether or not any variation proposed to be made by the scheme falls within any description of variation specified in an order under subsection (6) above.
(9) A scheme made under section 139 may also be varied by a direction given by the Secretary of State, as from such date as may be specified in the direction.
(10) Before giving such a direction the Secretary of State shall consult the local education authority concerned and such other persons as he thinks fit.
Education Reform Act 1988