§ The Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. Peter Hain)Following a request from the Welsh Assembly Government, the Government propose, subject to Parliamentary approval, to transfer to the National Assembly for Wales the remaining elements of higher education funding in Wales, namely
responsibility for student funding for higher and further education students domiciled in Wales, which is currently the responsibility of the Department for Education and Skills on an England-and-Wales basis; andfull responsibility for the tuition fee regime, including powers over new policy as regards variable fees.This means that the National Assembly for Wales will take on responsibility for providing financial support to students domiciled in Wales, regardless of where in the UK they undertake their higher or further education. In addition, the National Assembly will take on responsibility for determining the level of fees to be charged in Welsh institutions.This will have the effect of ending the anomaly whereby the National Assembly for Wales has responsibility for higher education institutions but not higher education students. As we move to a situation where students increasingly contribute to the funding of institutions, this will become even more anomalous.
Powers to collect repayments of student loans from graduates through the tax system will continue to remain a UK Government responsibility, in common with the devolution system for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Most functions affecting higher education in Wales, including the funding of Welsh institutions, are already the responsibility of the National Assembly for Wales. One exception is the student support system for higher education students, which is currently administered by the Department for Education and Skills both for England and Wales. Transferring these remaining functions in respect of Wales will therefore rationalise the existing split of responsibilities for higher education in Wales.
Student support is already devolved responsibility in both Scotland and Northern Ireland. Once the transfer of functions takes effect, Wales, like Northern Ireland 85WS and Scotland, will have policy responsibility for determining the level of fees and their own student support packages.
I have been in detailed discussions with my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and Skills and the Assembly Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning on the principles underpinning this transfer and on the means for achieving it. The Government has already announced its intention to bring forward legislation to implement a number of the proposals in the recent White Papers, The Future of Higher Education and Widening Participation in Higher Education. The intention is to bring forward legislation which will provide the National Assembly with new powers over the fees charged for higher education and over the support provided in higher education.
We have already announced our intention, subject to Parliamentary approval, for the relevant proposals in the Higher Education White Paper such as allowing Universities to set their own fees for individual courses and removing the barrier of students having to pay fees up front—to take effect from the 2006–07 academic year. We would envisage that the National Assembly for Wales should receive the necessary powers over the tuition fee regime in time for this. We also believe that September 2006 would also be the earliest admissions round for which it would be practical to transfer the student support system to Wales.
Our officials will continue to work on taking forward the detail of these proposals and reporting back when further details are available.