• Home
• News and Updates
• Wales Consultations

Wales Consultations

14^th December 2021

Tertiary Education and Research (Wales) Bill

The Tertiary Education and Research (Wales) Bill establishes a new Commission for Tertiary Education and Research as an arms-length body and dissolves the Higher and Education Funding Council for Wales. The Commission will be responsible for the whole of the tertiary education sector in Wales, with legal responsibility for the funding, oversight and quality of tertiary education in Wales along with the registration of providers. This will bring higher education, further education, local authority maintained school sixth forms, apprenticeships, and adult community learning, as well as responsibility for research and innovation, together in one place.

The link to the Bill and associated documents can be found here: https://business.senedd.wales/mgIssueHistoryHome.aspx?IId=28081 and https://gov.wales/tertiary-education-research-bill-wales

The Senedd Children, Young People and Education Committee is undertaking an inquiry into the general principles of the Tertiary Education and Research (Wales) Bill (‘the Bill’).  The closing date for response to the consultation is 17 December 2021.

Three nations of quality?

The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales has moved to harmonise external quality review cycles for higher education with requirements in Scotland and Northern Ireland, further emphasising how England has moved away from a UK consensus on quality assurance. A consultation released yesterday suggests that external reviews in Wales will now take place over a five rather than six-year cycle, and HEFCW will directly commission the Quality Assurance Agency to undertake these. The consultation closes on 17 December 2022, with the finalised changes published in March 2023 to take effect in September 2023.

Higher Education for the Nation: Supporting Students

This report aims to showcase how Welsh universities used government funding to support students through the pandemic.  The report examines how universities put the £27m in funding to use, addressing issues of student hardship, the transition to digital learning and advice and support services.

Wales’ research performance with UK and global comparators

The Welsh government has published a report on how Welsh research has contributed to the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs) between 2010 and 2019. Within the UK, Welsh research ranks highest for citation impact, with 30 per cent of published research relating to SDGs.