Since 2001, people enrolling on Learning and Skills Council (LSC) supported English for Speakers of Other Languages courses have been entitled to automatic fee remission provided that they meet the LSC’s eligibility criteria for publicly funded further education.
Entry to a course by any learner will depend on an initial assessment which confirms that a Skills for Life ESOL course is the most appropriate way of meeting their learning needs. For au pairs, this is unlikely to be the case as Skills for Life ESOL courses are intended to meet the needs of the most disadvantaged learners in settled communities, not those who are temporarily in the UK possibly with the intention of learning English.
However, if ESOL is appropriate, the following eligibility and fee arrangements apply:
Under the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) Funding Guidance for 2006/07, the general rule for public funding of further education (FE) is that the learner should have been resident in the UK for three years. Citizens of European Union (EU) countries are also generally considered to be eligible, as long as they have lived in the European Economic Area (EEA) for three years. This three-year residency requirement applies equally to UK citizens who have not been resident in the UK/EEA.
However, there are already a number of exceptions to this rule that take account of exceptional circumstances. For example, newly arrived spouses do not have to wait the normal three-year period. Provided they are married to a UK resident with settled status they become eligible for FE provision once they have been resident in the UK for one year.
These residency requirements reflect the Government’s view that it is reasonable to expect a person to have established a relevant connection with the UK before being allowed to benefit from funding provided by UK taxpayers. These arrangements are long standing and have generally proved to be a fair measure for determining fee status. The eligibility rules must be met by all adults seeking to qualify under the ‘home’ fees criteria, including UK nationals returning to this country from outside the EU.
Although there is no change to the eligibility conditions set out above, changes announced to fee remission will apply to all eligible learners. From August 2007, there will be no automatic fee remission for ESOL courses. Learners who can afford to do so will be asked to make a contribution to the cost of learning at a rate of 37.5 per cent. of the course fee with the Government still paying the majority of the cost. Those who are on benefits or who can evidence very low incomes will be entitled to fee remission.