HESA works on behalf of HE providers in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to help them fulfil their statutory obligations to provide information to the funding and regulatory bodies in each administration. These bodies are HESA’s ‘Statutory Customers’ and they determine the data that each HE provider must return through HESA.
Statutory obligations on HE providers to provide information
Wales
Section 27 of the Higher Education (Wales) Act 2015 obliges the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) to “publish a code relating to the organisation and management of the financial affairs of regulated institutions”. This Financial Management Code in turn requires HE providers in Wales to provide information to HEFCW as it reasonably requires.
Scotland
Section 22 of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005 requires HE providers in Scotland to provide the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council with “such information as it may reasonably require for the purposes of or in connection with the exercise of any of its functions.”
Northern Ireland
Section 30 of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1993 permits the Department of higher education (currently the Department for the Economy) to “obtain such advice and other services as it considers necessary or desirable from any other body or person on such terms and conditions as may be agreed between the Department and that other body or person.” Agreements, codes or memoranda between funding or regulatory bodies and HE providers specify that information requirements are fulfilled through submission of data to HESA.
