Draft Tertiary Education and Research (Wales) Act 2022 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2026

(Limited Text - Ministerial Extracts only)

Tuesday 17th March 2026 General Committees

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Anna McMorrin)]

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft Tertiary Education and Research (Wales) Act 2022 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2026. 

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. The draft order was laid before the House on 2 February. It will make changes to UK legislation that are necessary as a consequence of the Senedd’s Tertiary Education and Research (Wales) Act 2022. The order must be enforced by 1 April to coincide with the Welsh Government’s commencement plan for the Act.

The 2022 Act created a new statutory framework for publicly funded tertiary education and research in Wales. It established the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research—recently named Medr—which is responsible for funding and overseeing the tertiary education sector in Wales. The sector encompasses higher education, further education and training, apprenticeships, sixth forms and adult community learning. I will refer to that body as either the Commission or by its name, Medr.

The Act provides the Commission with new powers to fund tertiary education in Wales and repeals corresponding functions that were previously in place. The order ensures that several pieces of UK legislation are kept up to date by making amendments that account for the new system introduced by the Senedd’s 2022 Act. The order mainly removes references to the powers that are now being repealed and replaces them with references to the equivalent powers in the 2022 Act. That ensures that the legislation being amended will continue to operate in largely the same way as it does now, but with the Commission integrated into the legislative framework.

Article 2 of the order amends the Value Added Tax Act 1994 to ensure that education and vocational training provision funded through powers in the 2022 Act will be an exempt supply for the purpose of value added tax. The Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 includes provision for the tax treatment of income derived from shares in research institution spin-out companies. Article 3 ensures that the definition of “research institution” in that Act includes any university or other educational institution receiving funding under powers in the 2022 Act.

Article 4 amends the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 to enable Welsh Ministers to exercise functions in the 2022 Act jointly with other public authorities, including the Office for Students and UK Research and Innovation. Article 5 amends the Charities Act 2011 (Principal Regulators of Exempt Charities) Regulations 2013 to designate the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research as the principal regulator for specific charities in Wales. That reflects the fact that the Commission—or Medr—will now be responsible for regulating further education and training in Wales under the 2022 Act, whereas previously Welsh Ministers were. The order also ensures that existing restrictions on principal charity regulators relating to the onward sharing of His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs information are applied to the Commission.

Article 6 amends the Seafarers’ Wages Regulations 2024 to ensure that the apprenticeship rate for seafarers can apply to those carrying out apprenticeships funded by the Commission under powers in the 2022 Act.

The amendments to UK legislation in the draft order fall outside the legislative competence of the Senedd as they relate to reserved matters such as tax, charities and employment. Taken together, those amendments ensure that existing legislation will continue to operate as intended by taking account of the changes made by the 2022 Act.

I welcome the implementation of the Senedd’s Tertiary Education and Research (Wales) Act and the positive impact that Medr is already having in Wales. The draft order will make the consequential amendments necessary to keep UK legislation up to date, and it will help ensure that the 2022 Act can take effect as intended.

--- Later in debate ---

[Anna McMorrin]

I thank the shadow Minister for her valuable contribution to the debate this afternoon and members of the Committee for being here. This order provides for several consequential amendments to UK legislation necessary before the next phase of the 2022 Act comes into force in April.

The shadow Minister made several points in her speech. I am very pleased that Wales managed to withstand 14 years of austerity from a Tory Government. More than that, the Welsh Government invested in building more 21st-century schools than anywhere else in the UK. Medr is shaping a tertiary education system in which everyone can acquire the skills and knowledge they need for a changing economy and society. The Welsh Government reflected and consulted on that—they consulted widely with tertiary education providers—and they are taking it forward. Medr was established last August and is looking at tangible improvements to raise standards across the board. That is why the 2022 Act is in place. Importantly, it will ensure that education, skills and apprenticeships are available for everyone, no matter what their background.

I offer my thanks for the constructive manner in which the UK and the Welsh Governments have worked in preparing this order, and in which the shadow Minister made her points. I commend the order to the Committee.

Question put and agreed to.