I want specifically to explore such examples. That is why I need to take a little time over this important amendment.

In the unlikely event that matters such as those that the hon. Gentleman raised came to court under procedures other than those in the Bill, we have every expectation that the court would take account of any enforcement action that the director had already taken and judge accordingly. Let us imagine that an institution does not provide the bursaries that it said it

would in its plan. That would be a breach of the plan and would be a matter for the director to consider. One sanction open to the director would be to withhold the grant until he was satisfied that the institution had made good, or substantially good, its breach of the plan. Once it had done that, the grant would be restored, so restitution to the student is an important part of the process. Likewise, in deciding about enforcement action, the director would have to take account of any court judgment that may have been made.

Let me give the Committee an example of how sanctions could work in practice. I appreciate that it does not relate to the specific point about the tutorial, but it deals with the area in which disputes are likely to arise. If an institution had an access plan that allowed it to charge its students £2,300 and then charged £3,000 without varying its plan, the director of fair access, having advised the institution of his intentions, would have the following sanctions available to him. These are all set out in either the regulations or the draft guidance from the Secretary of State.

First, the director could direct the relevant funding council to reduce the institution's grant by 110 per cent. of the total amount by which fees were overcharged. That would be restored to the institution when it had made good the breach. Secondly, the director could direct the funding body to impose a financial sanction by reducing the institution's grant by up to £500,000. Thirdly, the director could refuse to renew the institution's access plan.

We appreciate the need for clarity and transparency in describing how plans will be enforced by the director of fair access in England and the designated authority in Wales. Although amendment No. 231 is well intentioned, it would not add to the clarity already provided by the Bill and our draft regulations 10 to 15, which should be read in conjunction with it.