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Higher Education: British Overseas Territories

My honourable friend the Minister of State (Bill Rammell) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. The UK has a continuing obligation under the United Nations charter to promote the well-being of the inhabitants of its overseas territories, and we are committed under the White Paper Partnership for Progress and Prosperity—Britain and the Overseas Territories to ensuring their social and economic development. I am therefore pleased to tell Parliament that in response to representations about students from our overseas territories, the Department for Education and Skills will be making changes to our Education (Fees and Awards) Regulations and to the Student Fees (Qualifying Courses and Persons) Regulations from the 2007-08 academic year to allow these students to pay home fees, and not the higher overseas fee rate. This policy change will also apply to students from the overseas territories of Denmark, France and the Netherlands. Annexe A—The specified territories to which the change will apply are: British Overseas Territories Anguilla Bermuda British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Falkland Islands Montserrat Pitcairn Islands South Georgia & the South Sandwich Isles St Helena & its Dependencies Turks & Caicos Islands Overseas Territories of Other EU Member States Greenland & Faeroe Isles (Denmark) Netherlands Antilles (Bonaire, Curacao, Saba,St Eustatius and St Marten) and Aruba (Netherlands) French Possessions New Caledonia French Polynesia Wallis and Futuna Mayotte St Pierre et Miquelon French Southern and Antarctic Territories