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In force since 2026-07-31, as the publisher states.
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Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.
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Further and Higher Education Act 1992 1992 c. 13 An Act to make new provision about further and higher education. [6th March 1992] Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Propose a change(1) Before the appointed day the Secretary of State shall by order specify— (a) each educational institution maintained by a local authority which appears to him to fall within subsection (2) below, and (b) each county school, controlled school or grant-maintained school which appears to him to fall within subsection (3) below. (2) An institution falls within this subsection if on 1st November 1990 its enrolment number calculated in accordance with paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 3 to this Act was not less than 15 per cent. of its total enrolment number calculated in accordance with paragraph 1(2) of that Schedule. (3) An institution falls within this subsection if on 17th January 1991 not less than 60 per cent. of the pupils at the institution were receiving full-time education suitable to the requirements of persons over compulsory school age who have not attained the age of nineteen years. (4) On the appointed day a body corporate shall be established, for each institution so specified, for the purpose of conducting the institution as from the operative date. (5) The name given in the order under subsection (1) above as the name of the institution shall be the initial name of the body corporate. (6) Where an educational institution, being an institution maintained by a local authority or a grant-maintained school, has been established since 1st November 1990 or, as the case may be, 17th January 1991 by a merger of two or more institutions existing on that date, the institution shall be treated as falling within subsection (2) or, as the case may be, subsection (3) above if it would have done so if the merger had taken place before that date. (7) In this section “the appointed day” means the day appointed under section 94 of this Act for the commencement of subsection (4) above.
Propose a change(1) The Secretary of State may by order make provision for the establishment of a body corporate— (a) for the purpose of establishing and conducting an educational institution, or (b) for the purpose of conducting an existing educational institution, but shall not make an order in respect of an existing institution without the consent of the governing body. (2) Subsection (1) above does not apply to an institution which is maintained by a local authority. (3) The Secretary of State may by order make provision for the establishment of a body corporate for the purpose of conducting an institution which— (a) is maintained by a local authority, and (b) in his opinion, is principally concerned with the provision of full-time education suitable to the requirements of persons over compulsory school age who have not attained the age of nineteen years. (4) The name given in the order under this section as the name of the institution shall be the initial name of the body corporate. (5) An order under this section shall provide for the institution to be conducted by the body corporate as from the operative date.
Propose a change(1) The appropriate authority may not make an order under section 16(1) or (3) unless the authority has published a draft of the proposed order, or of an order in substantially the same form, by such time and in such manner as may be prescribed. (2) A draft proposal or order in respect of an institution which is maintained by a local authority may not be published without the consent of the governing body and the local authority. (3) In this section “the appropriate authority” means— (a) in relation to a proposal or order in respect of an institution in England, the Secretary of State; (b) in relation to a proposal or order in respect of an institution in Wales, the Welsh Ministers.
Propose a change(1) In this Act “further education corporation” means a body corporate established under section 15 or 16 of this Act or which has become a further education corporation by virtue of section 33D or 47 of this Act. (2) In this Part of this Act “operative date”, in relation to a further education corporation and the institution, means— (a) in the case of a further education corporation established under section 15 of this Act, such date as the Secretary of State may by order appoint in relation to the corporations so established, and (b) in the case of a further education corporation established under section 16 of this Act, such date as the Secretary of State may by order appoint in relation to that corporation.
Propose a change(1) A further education corporation may— (a) provide further and higher education, and (aa) provide secondary education suitable to the requirements of persons who have attained the age of fourteeen years, (ab) provide education which is secondary education by virtue of section 2(2B) of the Education Act 1996 (definition of secondary education), (ac) participate in the provision of secondary education at a school, (b) supply goods or services in connection with their provision of education, and those powers are referred to in section 19 of this Act as the corporation’s principal powers. (1A) A further education corporation may not provide education of a kind specified in subsection (1)(aa), (ab) or (ac) above unless they have consulted such local authorities as they consider appropriate. (2) For the purposes of subsection (1) above, goods are supplied in connection with the provision of education by a further education corporation if they result from— (a) their provision of education or anything done by them under this Act for the purpose of or in connection with their provision of education, (b) the use of their facilities or the expertise of persons employed by them in the fields in which they are so employed, or (c) ideas of a person employed by them, or of one of their students, arising out of their provision of education. (3) For the purposes of that subsection, services are supplied in connection with the provision of education by a further education corporation if— (a) they result from their provision of education or anything done by them under this Act for the purpose of or in connection with their provision of education, (b) they are provided by making available their facilities or the expertise of persons employed by them in the fields in which they are so employed, or (c) they result from ideas of a person employed by them, or of one of their students, arising out of their provision of education. (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Propose a change(1) A further education corporation may do anything (including in particular the things referred to in subsections (2) to (4) below) which appears to the corporation to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of or in connection with the exercise of any of their principal powers. (2) A further education corporation may conduct an educational institution for the purpose of carrying on activities undertaken in the exercise of their powers to provide further or higher education and, in particular, may assume as from the operative date the conduct of the institution in respect of which the corporation is established. (3) A further education corporation may provide facilities of any description appearing to the corporation to be necessary or desirable for the purposes of or in connection with carrying on any activities undertaken in the exercise of their principal powers (including boarding accommodation and recreational facilities for students and staff and facilities to meet the needs of students having learning difficulties ... ). (4) A further education corporation may— (a) acquire and dispose of land and other property, (b) enter into contracts, including in particular— (i) contracts for the employment of teachers and other staff for the purposes of or in connection with carrying on any activities undertaken in the exercise of their principal powers, and (ii) contracts with respect to the carrying on by the corporation of any such activities, (bb) form, participate in forming or invest in a company, (bc) form, participate in forming or otherwise become a member of a charitable incorporated organisation (within the meaning of Part 11 of the Charities Act 2011), (c) borrow such sums as the corporation think fit for the purposes of carrying on any activities they have power to carry on or meeting any liability transferred to them under sections 27 to 27C or 33P of this Act and, in connection with such borrowing, may grant any mortgage, charge or other security in respect of any land or other property of the corporation, (d) invest any sums not immediately required for the purposes of carrying on any activities they have power to carry on, (e) accept gifts of money, land or other property and apply it, or hold and administer it on trust for, any of those purposes, and (f) do anything incidental to the conduct of an educational institution providing further or higher education, including founding scholarships or exhibitions, making grants and giving prizes. (4A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (4AA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (4AB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (4AC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (4B) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (4C) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (6) A person has a learning difficulty if— (a) he has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of persons of his age, or (b) he has a disability which either prevents or hinders him from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided by institutions within the further education sector for persons of his age. (7) But a person is not to be taken to have a learning difficulty solely because the language (or form of language) in which he is or will be taught is different from a language (or form of language) which has at any time been spoken in his home. (8) A reference in this section to investing in a company includes a reference to becoming a member of the company and to investing in it by the acquisition of any assets, securities or rights or otherwise. (9) A further education corporation may provide advice or assistance to any other person where it appears to the corporation to be appropriate for them to do so for the purpose of or in connection with the provision of education by the other person.
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Propose a change(1) For every further education corporation established to conduct an educational institution there shall be— (a) an instrument providing for the constitution of the corporation (to be known as the instrument of government), and (b) an instrument in accordance with which the corporation, and the institution, are to be conducted (to be known as articles of government). (2) Instruments of government and articles of government of further education corporations— (a) must comply with the requirements of Schedule 4, and (b) subject to that, may make such other provision as may be necessary or desirable. (3) The validity of any proceedings of a further education corporation, or of any committee of the corporation, shall not be affected by a vacancy amongst the members or by any defect in the appointment or nomination of a member. (4) Every document purporting to be an instrument made or issued by or on behalf of a further education corporation and to be duly executed under the seal of the corporation, or to be signed or executed by a person authorised by the corporation to act in that behalf, shall be received in evidence and be treated, without further proof, as being so made or issued unless the contrary is shown.
Propose a change(1) As from the date on which a further education corporation is established, the instrument of government and articles of government— (a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . shall be such as is prescribed by regulations. (2) Such . . . regulations— (a) may provide for all or any of the persons who, on the date on which a corporation is established to conduct the . . . existing institution, are the members of the governing body of the institution to be the initial members of the corporation, and (b) may make such other provision in relation to . . . existing institutions as appears to the Secretary of State necessary or desirable to secure continuity in their government. (3) In the case of a further education corporation established to conduct an institution which, on the date the corporation was established, was a maintained school, the governing body incorporated under section 19 of the Education Act 2002 shall, on the operative date, be dissolved.
Propose a changeA further education corporation may modify or replace their instrument of government or articles of government.
Propose a changeA further education corporation shall be a charity (and, in accordance with Schedule 3 to the Charities Act 2011, is an exempt charity for the purposes of that Act).
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Propose a change(1) This section applies if a further education corporation propose that the corporation should be dissolved. (2) The corporation must publish— (a) details of the proposal, and (b) such other information as may be prescribed by regulations made by the appropriate authority. (3) The publication is to be in accordance with regulations made by the appropriate authority. (4) The corporation must consult on the proposal, and take account of the views of those consulted, in accordance with regulations made by the appropriate authority. (5) In this section, “the appropriate authority” means— (a) in relation to a further education corporation in England, the Secretary of State, and (b) in relation to a further education corporation in Wales, the Welsh Ministers.
Propose a change(1) This section and section 27B apply if, after complying with section 27, a further education corporation resolve that the corporation should be dissolved on a specified date. (2) “The dissolution date” means the date specified in a resolution under subsection (1). (3) The corporation must notify the appropriate authority of the resolution and the dissolution date as soon as reasonably practicable. (4) The corporation are dissolved on the dissolution date. (5) In this section, “the appropriate authority” has the meaning given in section 27. (6) See also section 27C (restrictions on dissolution in insolvency situations).
Propose a change(1) At any time before the dissolution date, the corporation may transfer any of their property, rights or liabilities to such person or body, or a person or body of such description, as may be prescribed by regulations made by the appropriate authority. (2) The corporation may do so only with the consent of the person or body concerned. (3) A transfer under subsection (1) has effect on the dissolution date. (4) Subsection (5) applies if a person or body prescribed, or of a description prescribed, under subsection (1) is not a charity established for charitable purposes which are exclusively educational purposes. (5) Any property transferred to the person or body must be transferred on trust to be used for charitable purposes which are exclusively educational purposes. (6) In this section, “the appropriate authority” has the meaning given in section 27.
Propose a change(1) A further education corporation have no power under section 27A to resolve that the corporation should be dissolved if— (a) the corporation is in education administration under Chapter 4 of Part 2 of the Technical and Further Education Act 2017, (b) a voluntary arrangement in relation to the corporation has been proposed under Part 1 of the Insolvency Act 1986 and the matter has not been finally concluded, (c) the corporation is in administration under Part 2 of the Insolvency Act 1986, (d) paragraph 44 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 applies (interim moratorium on proceedings where application to the court for an administration order has been made), or (e) the corporation is being wound up, whether voluntarily or by the court, under Part 4 of the Insolvency Act 1986 or a petition under that Part for winding up of the corporation by the court has been presented and not finally dealt with or withdrawn. (2) For the purposes of subsection (1)(b), the matter is finally concluded if— (a) no meetings are to be summoned under section 3 of the Insolvency Act 1986, (b) meetings summoned under that section fail to approve the arrangement with no, or the same, modifications, (c) an arrangement approved by meetings summoned under that section, or in consequence of a direction under section 6(4)(b) of that Act, has been fully implemented, or (d) the court makes an order under section 6(5) of that Act revoking approval given at previous meetings and, if the court gives any directions under section 6(6) of that Act, the corporation has done whatever it is required to do under those directions. (3) In this section— (a) a reference to paragraph 44 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 is to that paragraph as it applies to a further education corporation by virtue of— (i) section 6 of the Technical and Further Education Act 2017 (application of normal insolvency procedures), or (ii) Schedule 3 to the Technical and Further Education Act 2017 (special education administration); (b) any other reference to a provision of the Insolvency Act 1986 is to that provision as it applies to a further education corporation by virtue of section 6 of the Technical and Further Education Act 2017.
Propose a change(1) The appropriate authority may by order designate for the purposes of this section any educational institution principally concerned with the provision of one or both of the following— (a) full-time education suitable to the requirements of persons over compulsory school age who have not attained the age of nineteen years, and (b) courses of further or higher education, if the institution meets the requirements of subsection (2) below. (2) The institution must be one of the following— (a) a voluntary aided school (other than one belonging to a group of schools for which a foundation body acts under section 21 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998), (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (c) an institution which is grant-aided or eligible to receive aid by way of grant or (d) an institution established for the purpose of being principally concerned with the provision of one or both of the kinds of education specified in subsection (1) above. (3) For the purposes of subsection (2)(c) above an institution is grant-aided or eligible to receive aid by way of grant if it is maintained by persons other than local authorities who— (a) receive any grants under regulations made under section 485 of the Education Act 1996, or (b) are eligible to receive such grants. (3A) The appropriate authority shall not make an order under this section in respect of a voluntary aided school without the consent of the governing body and the local authority. (3B) In this section “the appropriate authority”— (a) in relation to an educational institution in England, means the Secretary of State; (b) in relation to an educational institution in Wales, means the Welsh Ministers. (4) In this Part of this Act “designated institution” means an institution in relation to which a designation under this section has effect.
Propose a change(1) This section applies to a designated institution, other than— (a) an institution conducted by a company, or (b) an institution conducted by an unincorporated association, if the order designating the institution provides for its exemption. (2) For each designated institution to which this section applies, there is to be— (a) an instrument providing for the constitution of a governing body of the institution (to be known as the instrument of government), and (b) an instrument in accordance with which the institution is to be conducted (to be known as the articles of government). (3) In sections 29A to 29C— “instrument” means an instrument of government or articles of government; “regulatory instrument”, in relation to an institution, means— an instrument of government or articles of government, or any other instrument relating to or regulating the institution.
Propose a change(1) The first post-designation instrument and articles of government of a designated institution to which section 29 applies must each comply with subsection (3).... (2) The “first post-designation instrument and articles of government” of a designated institution are the first instrument of government and articles of government that the institution has after the designation takes effect. (3) The instrument must meet one of the following requirements— (a) the instrument was in force when the designation took effect and is approved for the purposes of this section by the appropriate authority; (b) the instrument— (i) is made in pursuance of a power under a regulatory instrument or (where there is no such power) by the governing body of the institution, and (ii) (in either case) is approved for the purposes of this section by the appropriate authority; (c) the instrument is made by the appropriate authority by order. (4) An instrument made by the governing body under subsection (3)(b) or the appropriate authority under subsection (3)(c) may replace wholly or in part an existing regulatory instrument. (5) Before making an instrument under subsection (3)(c), the appropriate authority must, so far as it appears practicable to do so, consult— (a) the governing body of the institution, and (b) where there is power under a regulatory instrument to make the instrument, and that power is exercisable by persons other than the governing body of the institution, the persons by whom the power is exercisable. (6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (7) In this section “the appropriate authority”— (a) in relation to an institution in England, means the Secretary of State; (b) in relation to an institution in Wales, means the Welsh Ministers.
Propose a change(1) This section applies to a designated institution to which section 29 applies. (2) The governing body of the institution may modify or replace its instrument of government and articles of government. (3) If the institution is in Wales and is an institution to which section 30 applies, the governing body may do any of the things mentioned in subsection (2) only with the consent of the trustees of the institution. (4) The instrument of government and articles of government (as modified or replaced)— (a) must comply with the requirements of Schedule 4, and (b) subject to that, may make such other provision as may be necessary or desirable.
Propose a change(1) Notwithstanding anything in sections 29 to 29B of this Act, the instrument of government of a designated institution to which this section applies must provide— (a) for the governing body of the institution to include persons appointed for the purpose of securing so far as practicable that the established character of the institution at the time of its designation is preserved and developed and, in particular, that the institution is conducted in accordance with any trust deed relating to it, and (b) for the majority of members of the governing body to be such governors. (2) This section applies to— (a) an institution which, when designated, was a voluntary aided school, and (b) an institution specified, or falling within a class specified, by the Secretary of State by order. (3) The Secretary of State may specify an institution or a class of institutions only if the institution or each member of the class is principally concerned with the provision of the education specified in section 28(1)(a) above. (4) The reference in subsection (1)(a) above to the established character of an institution is, in relation to an institution established shortly before or at the same time as being designated, a reference to the character which the institution is intended to have on its establishment.
Propose a change(1) This section has effect in relation to any designated institution in Wales conducted by a company. (2) The articles of association of the company shall incorporate— (a) provision with respect to the constitution of a governing body of the institution (to be known as the instrument of government of the institution), and (b) provision with respect to the conduct of the institution (to be known as the articles of government of the institution). (2A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (3) The Secretary of State may give to the persons who appear to him to have effective control over the company such directions as he thinks fit for securing that— (a) the articles of association of the company, or (b) any rules or bye-laws made in pursuance of any power conferred by the articles of association of the company, are amended in such manner as he may specify in the direction. (4) No amendment of the articles of association of the company (other than one required under subsection (3)(a) above) shall take effect until it has been submitted to the Secretary of State for his approval and he has notified his approval to the company. (5) Before giving any directions under subsection (3) above the Secretary of State shall consult the persons who appear to him to have effective control over the company.
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