2026 No. 498 (C. 42)

EDUCATION

The Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022 (Commencement No. 1) Regulations 2026

Made11th May 2026

The Secretary of State makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 36(3) and (4) of the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022¹.

1 Citation and interpretation¶

1 These Regulations may be cited as the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022 (Commencement No. 1) Regulations 2026.

2 In these Regulations “the 2022 Act” means the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022.

2 Commencement of section 15 of the 2022 Act¶

The day appointed for the coming into force of section 15 of the 2022 Act (support for lifelong learning) is the day after the day on which these Regulations are made.

3 Commencement of section 16 of the 2022 Act¶

1 For the purpose only of making regulations under the Higher Education and Research Act 2017², the day appointed for the coming into force of section 16 of the 2022 Act (lifelong learning: amendment of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017) is the day after the day on which these Regulations are made.

2 For all other purposes, the day appointed for the coming into force of section 16 of the 2022 Act is 1st September 2026.

Explanatory Note¶

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These are the fourth commencement regulations made under the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022 (c. 21) (“the 2022 Act”).

These Regulations bring sections 15 and 16 of the 2022 Act into force. Section 15 of the 2022 Act extends and applies to England and Wales, but also to Scotland and Northern Ireland (so far as sections 22 and 23 of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 (c. 30) (“the 1998 Act”) do in those jurisdictions). Section 16 of the 2022 Act extends and applies to England and Wales, though section 16(3) also extends and applies to Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Regulation 2 brings section 15 of the 2022 Act into force on the day after the day on which these Regulations are made. Section 15 of the 2022 Act inserts a new section 28A into the 1998 Act. This modifies section 22 of the 1998 Act, so that the powers in section 22 can expressly be exercised in relation to funding for modules of English higher and further education courses, and introduces a power to prescribe a new “lifetime limit” in respect of financial provision made available to a student under section 22. Sections 23 and 28 of the 1998 Act are also similarly modified.

Regulation 3 brings into force section 16 of the 2022 Act, for regulation-making purposes only, on the day after the day on which these Regulations are made. For all other purposes, section 16 of the 2022 Act comes into force on 1st September 2026. Section 16 of the 2022 Act makes consequential amendments to the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 (c. 29) to facilitate the regulation of modules of English higher education courses when undertaken otherwise than as part of a full course and inserts a definition of a full course (that is, a higher education course which is not a module of another higher education course).

NOTE AS TO EARLIER COMMENCEMENT Regulations¶

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

The following provisions of the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022 (c. 21) have been brought into force by commencement regulations made before the date of these Regulations.

Provision	Date of Commencement	S.I. No.
Sections 6 to 13	30th September 2022	2022/965 (C. 73)
Section 14	1st January 2023	2022/1349 (C. 107)
Section 17	1st September 2025	2025/929 (C. 42)

Footnotes

1
2022 c. 21.
2
2017 c. 29.