Higher Education Bill — New Clause 5 — Abolition of tuition fees chargeable to qualifying student — 31 Mar 2004 at 18:15

The majority of MPs voted to introduce variable university tuition fees (top-up fees) of up to £3,000 per year in place of the previous fixed fee of £1,250 per year.

A proposed new clause 5 was refused a second reading ie. it was rejected. If it had been incorporated into the final Act this would have removed top-up fees from the legislation.

The text of the rejected clause read:

• (1) This section applies to fees charged by a relevant institution in respect of a qualifying course in connection with the undertaking of that course by a qualifying student.
• (2) No fees to which this section applies may be charged in respect of any academic year unless regulations under section 22 of the 1998 Act (new arrangements for giving financial support to students) make provision in the case of all qualifying students for authorising a grant in respect of that academic year to be paid directly to the relevant institution the amount of which is equal to the amount of the fees.
• (3) In this section—
• "academic year", in relation to a course, means an academic year applicable to the course;
• "qualifying course" means a course which is—
• (a) a designated course within the meaning of the student support regulations, and
• (b) provided by an institution in England within the meaning of section 62 (7) of the 1992 Act;
• "qualifying student" means a person who is of the class specified in Schedule 1 to the student support regulations other than—
• (a) persons who are not eligible for support under the student support regulations by reason of regulations 4(2) of those regulations, and
• (b) persons who are not eligible for a grant for fees under the student support regulations by reason of regulations 10(2) of those regulations;
• "relevant institution" means an institution specified by the Secretary of State in a condition under section 68(1) of the 1992 Act or section 7(1) of the 1998 Act;
• "the student support regulations" means the Education (Student Support) (No. 2) Regulations 2002 (S.I., 2002/3200)

Debate in Parliament | Historical Hansard | Source |