Student Support Bill 2008

Public bill · Government · Presented

The Student Support Bill 2008 would replace four student-grant schemes with one statutory system covering maintenance and fee grants for approved higher- and further-education courses. Vocational education committees would process applications, assess factors such as income, dependants, nationality and residence, and investigate changes in circumstances; applicants could appeal first to an appeals officer and then to an independent Student Grants Appeals Board. It would also protect existing grant recipients during their courses, allow information-sharing between public bodies, require institutions to prepare access plans for disadvantaged and under-represented groups, and impose repayment and penalties for fraud.

Formal long title

Bill entitled an Act to provide for the making of grants in certain cases by awarding authorities to enable persons to attend certain courses of higher or further education, to establish an appeals board to be known as An Bord Achomhairc i leith Deontas Mac Léinn or, in the English language, the Student Grants Appeals Board, to repeal the Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Acts 1968 to 1992 and to provide for related matters

Last updated 20 November 2019