§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether, following his decision to 210W make refugee immigrants eligible for home student, fees, he is satisfied that they experience no difficulty in obtaining mandatory grants from local authorities; and if he will make a statement.
§ Dr. BoysonBy virtue of regulation 5 of the Education (Mandatory Awards) (Amendment) (No.3) Regulations 1980, the normal three year period of ordinary residence in the British Islands required for entitlement to a mandatory award is waived in the case of a convention refugee who is not, since he was recognised as such, been ordinarily resident elsewhere.
It is further proposed that in the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations 1981, shortly to be laid before Parliament a convention refugee shall not be disqualified from an award by reason of his having made an application after the normal deadline of the end of the first term of the course, if the application reaches the authority before the end of the first term commencing after 1 September 1981 or, if later, after the date on which he was recognised as a refugee. This latter provision covers students recognised as refugees while already in attendance on their courses in the United Kingdom. For all students, including refugees, making late applications it will also be made clear that previous attendance on the course to which the application relates does not of itself disqualify them from mandatory support.
In common with all other applicants for awards, refugees who have previously undertaken advanced study for more than a term in their native countries or elsewhere are not in most cases entitled to mandatory awards. To provide otherwise would put them in a more favourable position than home students with previously study.