Pre-commencement consultation

Higher Education and Research Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 4:30 pm on 18 October 2016.

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“(1) Subsections (2) and (3) apply in relation to a provision of this Act under or by virtue of which the OfS has a function of consulting another person.

(2) At any time before the provision comes into force (and whether before or after the passing of this Act), the Secretary of State, the DFA or HEFCE or any of them acting jointly—

(a) may carry out any consultation that the OfS would have power or a duty to carry out after the provision comes into force, and

(b) for that purpose, may prepare drafts of any documents to which the consultation relates.

(3) At any time after the provision comes into force, the OfS may elect to treat any consultation carried out or other thing done under subsection (2) by the Secretary of State, the DFA or HEFCE (or any of them acting jointly) as carried out or done by the OfS.

(4) Subsections (5) and (6) apply in relation to a provision of this Act under or by virtue of which UKRI has a function of consulting another person.

(5) At any time before the provision comes into force (and whether before or after the passing of this Act), the Secretary of State or HEFCE or the Secretary of State and HEFCE acting jointly—

(a) may carry out any consultation that UKRI would have power or a duty to carry out after the provision comes into force, and

(b) for that purpose, may prepare drafts of any documents to which the consultation relates.

(6) At any time after the provision comes into force, UKRI may elect to treat any consultation carried out or other thing done under subsection (5) by the Secretary of State or HEFCE (or the Secretary of State and HEFCE acting jointly) as carried out or done by UKRI.

(7) In this section—

‘the DFA’ means the Director of Fair Access to Higher Education;

‘HEFCE’ means the Higher Education Funding Council for England.”—(Joseph Johnson.)

This clause, which is for insertion after clause 106, enables the OfS to rely upon consultation carried out by the Secretary of State, the DFA or HEFCE before the consultation provisions of the Bill come into force as if that consultation were carried out by the OfS under those provisions. It also enables UKRI to rely upon consultation carried out by the Secretary of State or HEFCE before the consultation provisions come into force as if the consultation were carried out by UKRI.

Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill.

New Clause 17