§ Mr. DobsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the position of(a) members of the British volunteer programme and (b) members of the diplomatic service and the armed forces with respect to their designation as home or as foreign students for the purposes of tuition fees and grant eligibility when they have worked overseas for more than three years.
§ Mr. Alan HowarthThe conditions of eligibility for mandatory student awards and for the "home student" rate of tuition fee are set out in the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations and the Education (Fees and Awards) Regulations respectively. The requirements include ordinary residence in the British islands throughout the three years preceding the first year of the course, other than wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education. Special provisions apply to774W residence in EC territory. There are no specific exemptions for members of the British volunteer programme, diplomatic service or armed forces, but where the ordinary residence requirement cannot be met only because of temporary employment overseas an exemption applies which has the effect of treating the student as a home student. It is for local education authorities in the case of awards, and for further and higher education institutions in the case of fees, to determine whether an individual student is eligible, having regard to his particular circumstances, the provisions of the regulations and any relevant case law.