Overview

This bill aims to ensure fair tuition fees for British students across the UK, regardless of their place of residence. It prevents universities from charging different fees based on a student's domicile and prohibits organizations using public funds to support students from varying support based on their place of study.

Description

The Higher Education (Fees) Bill seeks to amend existing legislation to achieve fee equality for British students. Key aspects include:

• Amendment to the Scotland Act 1998: Prevents the Scottish Government from charging different tuition fees to students from England, Wales, or Northern Ireland compared to students from Scotland.
• Amendment to the Higher Education Act 2004: Prevents universities in England and Wales from charging different fees to students from Scotland and Northern Ireland compared to those from England and Wales.
• Restriction on Financial Support: Prohibits organizations using public funds to support students from providing more beneficial support based solely on a student's place of study within the UK. However, organizations can still contribute different cash amounts towards fees if the variation is based on a consistent proportion of fees across institutions.

Government Spending

The bill doesn't directly specify changes to government spending. However, by ensuring fee equality, it could potentially influence the allocation of public funds towards student support schemes, although the exact financial impact is not detailed in the provided text.

Groups Affected

• Universities in Scotland, England, and Wales: This Bill will directly impact their ability to set tuition fees based on student domicile.
• British Students: This will affect students' tuition costs and the amount of financial support they receive, potentially leading to greater equity.
• Organizations providing student financial support: This will restrict how they can distribute funding to ensure support is not tied to a student's place of study.
• Scottish Government: This Bill restricts the Scottish Government's power to set differing tuition fees for students from different parts of the UK.

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