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The Education (Student Support) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006

Type Ni-Statutory-Rule

Publication 2006-07-18

Last updated 2007-07-10

State In force

Jurisdiction Northern Ireland

Department Government Printer for Northern Ireland

Source legislation.gov.uk

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(i) a bursary or award of similar description under Article 44 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972 or section 63 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 whether or not the amount of such bursary is calculated by reference to his income;

(ii) any allowance under the Nursing and Midwifery Student Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 1992[^f00061]; or

(iii) a Scottish healthcare allowance whether or not the amount of such allowance is calculated by reference to his income;

(b) he is in breach of any obligation to repay any loan;

(c) he has reached the age of 18 and has not ratified any agreement for a loan made with him when he was under the age of 18;

(d) he has, in the opinion of the Department, shown himself by his conduct to be unfitted to receive support; or

(e) subject to paragraph (4), he is a prisoner serving a custodial sentence.

(4) Paragraph (3)(e) does not apply in respect of an academic year during which the student enters prison to serve a custodial sentence or is released from prison having served such a sentence.

(5) For the purposes of paragraphs (3)(b) and (c), “loan” means a loan made under the student loans legislation.

(6) In a case where the agreement for a loan is subject to the law of Scotland, paragraph (3)(c) only applies if the agreement was made—

(a) before 25th September 1991; and

(b) with the concurrence of the borrower’s curator or at a time when he had no curator.

(7) Despite paragraphs (2) and (3), a person is an eligible part-time student for the purposes of this Part if he satisfies the conditions in paragraph (8) or (9).

(8) The conditions in this paragraph are—

(a) the person qualified as an eligible part-time student in connection with an earlier academic year of the current designated part-time course pursuant to regulations made by the Department under Article 3 of the Order; and

(b) the person’s status as an eligible part-time student has not terminated.

(9) The conditions in this paragraph are—

(a) the Department has previously determined that the person is—

(i) an eligible student in connection with a designated course; or

(ii) an eligible part-time student in connection with a designated part-time course other than the current designated part-time course;

(b) the person’s status as an eligible student or as an eligible part-time student in connection with the course referred to in sub-paragraph (a) has been converted or transferred from that course to the current designated part-time course as a result of one or more conversions or transfers in accordance with regulations made by the Department under Article 3 of the Order; and

(10) An eligible part-time student may not, at any one time, qualify for support for—

(a) more than one designated part-time course;

(b) a designated part-time course and a designated course;

(11) Where one of the events listed in paragraph (13) occurs in the course of an academic year—

(a) a student may qualify for a grant in respect of fees in respect of that academic year in accordance with this Part provided that the relevant event occurred within the first three months of the academic year; and

(b) a grant in respect of fees is not available in respect of any academic year beginning before the academic year in which the relevant event occurred.

(12) Where one of the events listed in sub-paragraphs (a), (b), (e), (f), , (fa) (g) or (h) of paragraph (13) occurs in the course of an academic year—

(a) a student may qualify for a grant for books, travel and other expenditure in respect of that academic year in accordance with this Part; and

(b) a grant for books, travel and other expenditure is not available in respect of any academic year beginning before the academic year in which the relevant event occurred.

(13) The events are—

(a) the student’s course becomes a designated part-time course;

(b) the student, his spouse, his civil partner or his parent is recognised as a refugee or becomes a person with leave to enter or remain (as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 1);

(c) a state accedes to the European Community where the student is a national of that state or a family member (as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 1) of a national of that state;

(d) the student becomes a family member (as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 1) of an EC national;

(e) the state of which the student is a national accedes to the European Community where the student has been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and Islands throughout the three year-period immediately preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course;

(f) the student acquires the right of permanent residence (as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 1);

(fa) the student becomes the child of a Turkish worker;

(g) the student becomes a person described in paragraph 6(1)(a) of Schedule 1; or

(h) the student becomes the child of a Swiss national.

Designated part-time courses

86

(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), a part-time course is designated for the purposes of Article 3(1) of the Order and regulation 85 if—

(a) it is a course mentioned in Schedule 2 other than a course for the initial training of teachers;

(b) it is of at least one academic year’s duration and does not exceed twice the period normally required to complete a full-time course leading to the same qualification;

(c) it is wholly provided by a publicly-funded educational institution or institutions in the United Kingdom or is provided by such institution or institutions in conjunction with an institution or institutions outside the United Kingdom; and

(d) it is not designated by or under regulation 5.

(2) A course that is taken as part of an employment-based teacher training scheme is not a designated part-time course.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (1)—

(a) a course is provided by an institution if it provides the teaching and supervision which comprise the course, whether or not the institution has entered into an agreement with the student to provide the course;

(b) a university and any constituent college or institution in the nature of a college of a university is to be regarded as publicly funded if either the university or the constituent college or institution is publicly funded; and

(c) an institution is not to be regarded as publicly funded by reason only that it receives public funds from the governing body of a higher education institution in accordance with section 65(3A) of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992[^f00062].

(4) For the purposes of Article 3 of the Order and regulation 85(1) the Department may designate courses of higher education which are not designated by paragraph (1).

Period of eligibility

87

(1) An eligible part-time student retains his status as an eligible part-time student in connection with a designated part-time course until the status terminates in accordance with this regulation.

(2) The period for which an eligible part-time student retains his status is the “period of eligibility”.

(3) Subject to the following paragraphs, the period of eligibility terminates at the end of the academic year in which the eligible part-time student completes the designated part-time course.

(4) The period of eligibility terminates when the eligible part-time student—

(a) withdraws from his designated part-time course in circumstances where the Department has not transferred or converted or will not transfer or convert his status under regulation 96 or 97; or

(b) abandons or is expelled from his designated part-time course.

(5) The Department may terminate the period of eligibility where the eligible part-time student has shown himself by his conduct to be unfitted to receive support.

(6) If the Department is satisfied that an eligible part-time student has failed to comply with any requirement to provide information under this Part or has provided information which is inaccurate in a material particular, the Department may take such of the following actions as it considers appropriate in the circumstances—

(a) terminate the period of eligibility;

(b) determine that the student no longer qualifies for any particular support or particular amount of support;

(7) Where the period of eligibility terminates before the end of the academic year in which the eligible part-time student completes the designated part-time course, the Department may, at any time, renew the period of eligibility for such period as it determines.

Assistance for part-time courses

88

(1) For the purposes of this regulation, the assistance available is—

(a) a grant in respect of fees not exceeding the lesser of the following amounts—

(i) the basic grant, and

(ii) the “actual fees”, being the amount of fees charged to the student in respect of an academic year of the designated part-time course; and

(b) a grant not exceeding £250 for books, travel and other expenditure in connection with the designated part-time course.

(2) An eligible part-time student does not qualify for assistance under paragraph (1)(b) if the only paragraph in Part 2 of Schedule 1 into which he falls is paragraph 9.

(3) An eligible part-time student qualifies for assistance—

(a) under paragraph (1)(a) if the Department considers that he is undertaking the designated part-time course in Northern Ireland; and

(b) under paragraph (1)(b) if the Department considers that he is undertaking the designated part-time course in a part of the United Kingdom.

(4) An eligible part-time student does not qualify for support under this regulation if he has undertaken one or more part-time courses for eight academic years in aggregate and he has received in respect of each of those academic years a loan or a grant of the kind described in paragraph (5).

(5) The loans and grants are—

(a) a loan, a grant in respect of fees or a grant for books, travel and other expenditure each made in respect of an academic year of a part-time course by the Department pursuant to regulations made under Article 3 of the Order; or

(b) a loan, a grant in respect of fees or a grant for books, travel and other expenditure each made in respect of an academic year of a part-time course pursuant to regulations made under section 22 of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998;

(c) a loan in respect of an academic year of a part-time course made pursuant to regulations made under sections 73(f), 73B and 74(1) of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980[^f00063].

(6) An eligible part-time student does not qualify for support under this regulation if he holds a first degree from an educational institution in the United Kingdom or a first degree or comparable qualification from an educational institution outside the United Kingdom.

(7) For the purposes of paragraph (6), a degree is not to be treated as a first degree where—

(a) it is a degree (other than an honours degree) that has been awarded to an eligible part-time student who has completed the required modules, examinations or other forms of assessment for his first degree course; and

(b) the eligible part-time student is registered to continue the course at the same educational institution after the award of his degree so as to obtain an honours degree on completion of the required modules, examinations or other form of assessment.

Amount of assistance

89

(1) The basic grant varies according to the intensity of study.

(2) The intensity of study is calculated as follows and expressed as a percentage—

$$FTPT×100$whereFT is the number of academic years ordinarily required to complete a course which is the full-time equivalent of the designated part-time coursePT is the number of academic years ordinarily required to complete the designated part-time course.$

(3) The “basic grant” is—

(a) £750 where the intensity of study is less than 60 per cent. (“level 1”);

(b) £900 where the intensity of study is 60 per cent. or more but less than 75 per cent. (“level 2”);

(4) Subject to paragraph (5) and regulation 96(6), the amount of assistance payable in respect of an academic year is as follows—

(a) the maximum amount of assistance available under regulation 88(1) is payable if at the date of his application the eligible part-time student or his partner is entitled—

(i) under Part VII of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 to income support or housing benefit; or

(ii) under Part 1 of the Jobseekers (Northern Ireland) Order 1995[^f00064] to income–based jobseekers allowance or under section 1 of the Employment and Training Act (Northern Ireland)1950[^f00065] to new deal allowance;

(b) where the relevant income is less than £15,345, the maximum amount of assistance available under regulation 88(1) is payable;

(c) where the relevant income is £15,345, the maximum amount of assistance available under regulation 88(1)(b) is payable together with £50 less than the maximum amount of assistance available under regulation 88(1)(a);

(d) where the relevant income exceeds £15,345 but is less than £23,145, the maximum amount of assistance available under regulation 88(1)(b) is payable and the amount of assistance payable under regulation 88(1)(a) is the amount determined in accordance with paragraph (5);

(e) where the relevant income is £23,145, the maximum amount of assistance available under regulation 88(1)(b) is payable and the amount of assistance payable under regulation 88(1)(a) is £50;

(f) where the relevant income exceeds £23,145 but is less than £23,745, the maximum amount of assistance available under regulation 88(1)(b) is payable and no assistance is payable under regulation 88(1)(a);

(g) where the relevant income is £23,745 or more but less than £25,645, no assistance is available under regulation 88(1)(a) and the amount of assistance payable under regulation 88(1)(b) is the amount left after deducting from the maximum amount of assistance available under regulation 88(1)(b) £1 for every complete £9.50 by which the relevant income exceeds £23,745;

(h) where the relevant income is £25,645, no assistance is payable under regulation 88(1)(a) and the amount of assistance payable under regulation 88(1)(b) is £50;

(i) where the relevant income exceeds £25,645, no assistance is payable under regulation 88(1).

(5) Where paragraph (4)(d) applies, the amount of assistance payable under regulation 88(1)(a) is determined by deducting from the maximum amount of assistance available under regulation 88(1)(a) one of the following amounts—

(a) £50 plus a further £1 for each complete £12, £9.75 or £7.61 by which the relevant income exceeds £15,345 according to whether the intensity of study is level 1, 2 or 3, respectively; or

(b) where the basic grant is greater than the actual fees, an amount equal to that left after deducting from the amount calculated under sub-paragraph (a) the difference between the basic grant and the actual fees (unless the amount is a negative number in which case the maximum amount of assistance available under regulation 88(1)(a) is payable).

Interpretation of regulation 89

90

(1) For the purposes of regulation 89—

(a) subject to sub-paragraph (b), “partner” means any of the following—

(i) the spouse of an eligible part-time student;

(ii) the civil partner of an eligible part-time student;

(iii) a person ordinarily living with an eligible part-time student as if he were his spouse where an eligible part-time student is aged 25 or over on the first day of the academic year in respect of which he is being assessed for assistance and where he began the specified designated part-time course before 1st September 2005;

(iv) a person ordinarily living with an eligible part-time student as if he were his spouse or civil partner where an eligible part-time student begins the specified designated part-time course on or after 1st September 2005;

(b) a person who would otherwise be a partner under sub-paragraph (a) is not to be treated as a partner if—

(i) in the opinion of the Department, that person and the eligible part-time student are separated; or

(ii) the person is ordinarily living outside the United Kingdom and is not maintained by the eligible part-time student;

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), an eligible part-time student’s relevant income is equal to his financial resources in the preceding financial year less—

(i) £2,000 in respect of his partner;

(ii) £2,000 in respect of the only or eldest child who is dependent on the student or his partner; and

(iii) £1,000 in respect of each other child who is dependent on the student or his partner.

(3) Where the Department is satisfied that an eligible part-time student’s financial resources in the preceding financial year are greater than his financial resources in the current financial year and that the difference between the two amounts is £1,000 or more, it may assess that student’s financial resources by reference to those resources in the current financial year.

(4) In this regulation, an eligible part-time student’s financial resources in a financial year means the aggregate of his income for that year together with the aggregate of the income for that year of any person who at the date of the application for support is the student’s partner.

(5) In this regulation—

(a) “child” in relation to an eligible part-time student includes any child of his partner and any child for whom he has parental responsibility;

(b) “current financial year” means the financial year which includes the first day of the academic year in respect of which a person is being assessed for assistance;

(d) “financial year” means the period of twelve months for which the income of the eligible part-time student is computed for the purposes of the income tax legislation which applies to it;

(e) “income” means gross income from all sources excluding any tax credits awarded pursuant to any claims under section 3 of the Tax Credits Act 2002;

(f) “preceding financial year” means the financial year immediately preceding the current financial year;

(g) “specified designated part-time course” means the course in respect of which the person is applying for support or, where the student’s status as an eligible part-time student has been transferred to the current designated part-time course as a result of one or more transfers of that status by the Department from a part-time course (the “initial course”) in connection with which the Department determined the student to be an eligible part-time student pursuant to regulations made under Article 3 of the Order, the specified designated part-time course is the initial course.

Assistance with fees in respect of attendance on a course in England, Wales or Scotland

91

(1) The Department may pay support to assist with fees to an eligible part-time student in connection with his attendance on a designated part-time course in England, Wales, or Scotland.

(2) The assistance paid under paragraph (1) must not exceed the lesser of—

(a) the maximum amount of assistance that would have been payable to the eligible part-time student under regulation 88(1)(a) had he been undertaking the part-time course in Northern Ireland; and

(b) the maximum amount of support to assist with fees that in the opinion of the Department would have been payable to him according to whether he attends the designated part-time course in England, Wales or Scotland—

(i) pursuant to regulations made by the Secretary of State for Education and Skills under section 22 of the 1998 Act had he been ordinarily resident in England and undertaking the part-time course in England;

(ii) pursuant to regulations made by the National Assembly for Wales under section 22 of the 1998 Act had he been ordinarily resident in Wales and undertaking the part-time course in Wales; or

(iii) from funds of the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council[^f00066] had he been ordinarily resident in Scotland and undertaking the part-time course in Scotland.

Disabled part-time students' allowances

92

(1) An eligible part-time student qualifies in accordance with this Part for a grant to assist with the additional expenditure which the Department is satisfied he is obliged to incur by reason of a disability to which he is subject in respect of his undertaking a designated part-time course (the “disabled part-time students' allowance”).

(2) An eligible part-time student does not qualify for the disabled part-time students' allowance if the only paragraph in Part 2 of Schedule 1 into which he falls is paragraph 9.

(3) An eligible part-time student does not qualify for the disabled part-time students' allowance unless the Department considers that he is undertaking the designated course in the United Kingdom.

(4) Subject to the following paragraphs, the amount of disabled part-time students' allowance under this regulation is the amount that the Department considers appropriate in accordance with the student’s circumstances.

(5) The amount of the disabled part-time students' allowance must not exceed—

(a) £9,105 in respect of an academic year for expenditure on a non-medical personal helper;

(b) £4,795 in respect of all the academic years during the period of eligibility for expenditure on major items of specialist equipment;

(i) within the United Kingdom for the purpose of attending the institution;

(ii) within or outside the United Kingdom for the purpose of attending, as a part of his course, any period of study at an overseas institution or for the purpose of attending the British Institute in Paris;

(d) £1,200 in respect of an academic year for any other expenditure including expenditure incurred for the purposes referred to in sub-paragraph (a) or (b) which exceeds the specified maxima.

Applications for support

93

(1) A person (the “applicant”) must apply for support in connection with each academic year of a designated part-time course by completing and submitting to the Department an application in such form as the Department may require.

(2) The application must be accompanied by—

(a) a declaration completed by the academic authority; and

(b) such additional documentation as the Department may require.

(3) The Department may take such steps and make such inquiries as it considers necessary to determine whether the applicant is an eligible part-time student, whether he qualifies for support and the amount of support payable, if any.

(4) The Department must notify the applicant of whether he qualifies for support and, if he does qualify, the amount of support payable in respect of the academic year, if any.

(5) The general rule is that the application must reach the Department within a period of six months beginning with the first day of the academic year of the course in respect of which it is submitted.

(6) The general rule does not apply where—

(a) one of the events listed in paragraph (13) of regulation 85 occurs after the first day of the academic year in respect of which the applicant is applying for support, in which case the application must reach the Department within a period of six months beginning with the day on which the relevant event occurred;

(aa) the applicant is a person mentioned in paragraph 12 of Part 2 of Schedule 1, in which case the application must reach the Department by 11th January 2008 or within a period of six months beginning with the first day of the academic year in respect of which it is submitted, whichever is the later;

(b) the applicant is applying for the disabled part-time students' allowance, in which case the application must reach the Department as soon as is reasonably practicable; or

(c) the Department considers that having regard to the circumstances of the particular case the time limit should be relaxed, in which case the application must reach the Department not later than such date as it specifies.

Declarations provided by academic authorities

94

(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the appropriate academic authority must, on the request of the applicant, complete a declaration in such form as may be required by the Department to accompany the application for support.

(2) An academic authority is not required to complete a declaration if it is unable to give the confirmation required.

(3) In this Part, “declaration” means—

(a) where the applicant is applying for support in connection with the designated part-time course for the first time, a statement that—

(i) provides the course information; and

(ii) confirms that the applicant has undertaken at least two weeks of the designated part-time course;

(b) in any other case, a statement that—

(i) provides the course information; and

(ii) confirms that the applicant has enrolled to undertake the academic year of the designated part-time course in respect of which he is applying for support.

(4) In this regulation, “course information” means—

(a) the amount of fees being charged in respect of the academic year in respect of which the applicant is applying for support;

(b) the intensity of study; and

Information

95

Schedule 3 deals with the provision of information.

Transfer of status

96

(1) Where an eligible part-time student transfers to another part-time course, the Department must transfer the student’s status as an eligible part-time student to that course where—

(a) it receives a request from the eligible part-time student to do so;

(b) it is satisfied that one or more of the grounds for transfer in paragraph (2) applies; and

(2) The grounds for transfer are—

(a) the eligible part-time student starts to undertake another designated part-time course at the institution;

(b) the eligible part-time student starts to undertake a designated part-time course at another institution; or

(c) after commencing a designated part-time course for a first degree (other than an honours degree) the eligible part-time student is, before the completion of that course, admitted to a designated part-time course for an honours degree in the same subject or subjects at the institution.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4), an eligible part-time student who transfers under paragraph (1) shall receive in connection with the academic year of the course to which he transfers the remainder of the support for which the Department has determined he qualifies in respect of the academic year of the course from which he transfers.

(4) The Department may re-assess the amount of support payable after the transfer.

(5) An eligible student who transfers under paragraph (1) after the Department has determined his support in connection with the academic year of the course from which he is transferring but before he completes that year may not apply for another grant under regulation 88(1)(b) or regulation 92 in connection with the academic year of the course to which he transfers.

(6) Where a student transfers under paragraph (1), the maximum amount of assistance under regulation 88(1)(a) in respect of the academic years to and from which he transfers is the amount of assistance with fees available in connection with the course which has the highest intensity of study as defined in regulation 89.

Conversion of status

97

(1) Where an eligible student ceases to undertake a designated course and transfers to a designated part-time course at the same or at another institution, the Department must convert the student’s status as an eligible student to that of an eligible part-time student in connection with the course to which he is transferring where—

(a) it receives a request from the eligible student to do so; and

(b) the period of eligibility has not terminated.

(2) Where, before completing the designated course, the student transfers to a part-time course in the same subject or subjects leading to the same qualification at the same institution, the part-time course is to be treated as satisfying regulation 86(1)(b) if the period of part-time study to be undertaken by the student is of at least one academic year’s duration and does not exceed twice the period normally required to complete the remainder of the designated course from which the student transfers.

(3) The following applies to a student who transfers under paragraph (1)—

(a) where the Department has determined to pay an amount of disabled students' allowance to the student under Chapter 3 of Part 5 in periodic instalments, no payment in respect of that amount of grant must be made in respect of any instalment period beginning after the date on which the student becomes an eligible part-time student;

(b) the maximum amount of disabled part-time students' allowance to which the student would, apart from this regulation, be entitled in connection with his undertaking a designated part-time course in respect of that academic year is reduced by one third where the student became an eligible part-time student during the second quarter of the academic year and by two thirds where he became such a student in a later quarter of that year;

(c) where an amount of disabled students' allowance for any purpose has been paid to the student under Chapter 3 of Part 5 in a single instalment, the maximum amount of disabled part-time students' allowance payable to him for that purpose is reduced (or, where sub-paragraph (b) applies, further reduced) by the amount of grant paid to him for that purpose pursuant to Chapter 3 of Part 5, and where the resulting amount is nil or a negative amount that amount is nil; and

(d) where immediately before he became an eligible part-time student he was eligible to apply, but had not applied, for a loan for living costs in respect of that year, or had not applied for the maximum amount or increased maximum for which he was entitled, he may apply for such a loan or such additional amount of loan as if he had continued to be an eligible student; and in the circumstances mentioned in paragraph (4) the maximum or increased maximum amount of such loan for the academic year is reduced in accordance with that paragraph.

(4) Where the request under paragraph (1) is made during the first quarter of the academic year in respect of which the loan is payable the maximum amount or increased maximum amount of loan (as the case may be) is reduced by two thirds, and where the request is made during the second quarter of that year that amount is reduced by one third.

(5) Where an eligible part-time student ceases to undertake a designated part-time course and transfers to a designated course at the same or at another institution, the Department must convert that student’s status as an eligible part-time student to that of an eligible student in connection with the course to which he is transferring where—

(a) it receives a request from the eligible part-time student to do so; and

(b) the period of eligibility has not terminated.

(6) The following applies to a student who transfers under paragraph (5)—

(a) where the Department has determined to pay an amount of disabled part-time students' allowance to the student in periodic instalments no payment in respect of that amount of grant must be made in respect of any instalment period beginning after the date on which the student became an eligible student;

(b) any support to which the student is entitled under this Part in respect of the academic year in which the student transfers is ignored in determining the amount of support to which he may be entitled in respect of that year under Parts 4 to 6;

(c) the maximum amount of any support under Part 5 or 6 to which the student would, apart from this regulation, be entitled in connection with a designated course in respect of that academic year is reduced by one third where the student became an eligible student during the second quarter of that academic year and by two thirds where he became such a student in a later quarter of that year; and

(d) where an amount of grant for disabled part-time students' living costs for any purpose has been paid to the student in a single instalment, the maximum amount of disabled students' allowance payable to him under Chapter 3 of Part 5 for that purpose is reduced (or, where sub-paragraph (c) applies, further reduced) by the amount of disabled part-time students' allowance paid to him for that purpose and where the resulting amount is nil or a negative amount that amount is nil.

Payment of grants for books, travel and other expenditure and disabled part-time students' allowances

98

(1) Payments of the grant for books, travel and other expenditure and the disabled part-time students' allowance may be made in such manner as the Department considers appropriate and it may make it a condition of entitlement to payment that the eligible part-time student must provide it with particulars of a bank or building society account in the United Kingdom into which payments may be made by electronic transfer.

(2) Where the Department cannot make a final assessment on the basis of the information provided by the student, it may make a provisional assessment and payment of the grant for books, travel and other expenditure and the disabled part-time students' allowance.

(3) The Department may pay the grant for books, travel and other expenditure and the disabled part-time students' allowance in instalments.

(4) Subject to paragraph (5), the Department may pay the grant for books, travel and other expenditure and the disabled part-time students' allowance at such times as it considers appropriate.

(5) The Department must not pay the first instalment or, where it has been determined not to pay support in instalments, make any payment of the grant for books, travel and other expenditure or the disabled part-time students' allowance before it has received a declaration under regulation 93 unless an exception applies.

(6) An exception applies if—

(a) a disabled part-time students' allowance is payable in which case that particular grant may be paid before the Department has received a declaration;

(b) the Department has determined that owing to exceptional circumstances it would be appropriate to make a payment without receiving a declaration.

Payment of grants for fees

99

(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), the Department must pay the grant in respect of fees for which the student qualifies to the appropriate academic authority after a valid request for payment has been received.

(2) The Department may make payments under paragraph (1) at such times and in such instalments as it sees fit.

(3) The Department may make provisional payments under paragraph (1) in such cases as it deems appropriate.

Overpayments

100

(1) Any overpayment of a grant in respect of fees is recoverable by the Department from the academic authority.

(2) An eligible part-time student must, if so required by the Department, repay any amount paid to him under this Part which for whatever reason exceeds the amount of grant to which he is entitled under this Part.

(3) The Department must recover an overpayment of grant for books, travel and other expenditure and disabled part-time students' allowance unless it considers that it is not appropriate to do so.

(4) The methods of recovery are—

(a) subtracting the overpayment from any kind of grant payable to the student from time to time pursuant to regulations made by the Department under Article 3 of the Order;

(b) taking such other action for the recovery of an overpayment as is available to the Department.

(5) A payment of the disabled part-time students' allowance made before the relevant date is an overpayment if the student withdraws from the course before the relevant date unless the Department decides otherwise.

(6) The “relevant date” is the date on which the first term of the academic year in question actually begins.

(7) In the circumstances in paragraph (8) or (9), there is an overpayment of the disabled part-time students' allowance unless the Department decides otherwise.

(8) The circumstances are—

(a) the Department applies all or part of the disabled part-time students' allowance to the purchase of specialist equipment on behalf of the eligible part-time student;

(b) the student withdraws from, abandons or is expelled from the course after the relevant date; and

(c) the equipment has not been delivered to the student before he withdraws from, abandons or is expelled from the course.

(9) The circumstances are—

(a) the eligible part-time student withdraws from, abandons or is expelled from the course after the relevant date;

(b) a payment of the disabled part-time students' allowance in respect of specialist equipment is made to the student after he withdraws from, abandons or is expelled from the course.

(10) Where there is an overpayment of the disabled part-time students' allowance, the Department may accept the return of specialist equipment purchased with the grant by way of recovery of all or part of the overpayment if it considers it is appropriate to do so.

PART 11 — SUPPORT FOR POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

Eligible postgraduate students

101

(1) An eligible postgraduate student qualifies, subject to and in accordance with this Part, for a grant to assist with the additional expenditure which the Department is satisfied he is obliged to incur by reason of a disability to which he is subject in respect of his undertaking a designated postgraduate course.

(2) Subject to paragraph (4), a person is an eligible postgraduate student in connection with a designated postgraduate course if he satisfies the conditions in paragraph (3).

(3) The conditions are—

(a) the Department has determined in connection with the designated postgraduate course that the person falls within one of the categories set out in Part 2 of Schedule 1; and

(b) the Department is satisfied that, by reason of a disability to which the person is subject, he will be obliged to incur additional expenditure in respect of his undertaking the course.

(4) A person is not an eligible postgraduate student if—

(a) there has been made to him or paid to him in connection with the course—

(i) a bursary or award of similar description under Article 44 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972 or section 63 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968;

(ii) any allowance under the Nursing and Midwifery Student Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 1992[^f00067];

(iii) any allowance, bursary or award of similar description made by a Research Council;

(iv) any allowance, bursary or award of similar description made by his institution which includes any payment for the purpose of meeting additional expenditure incurred by the student by reason of his disability; or

(v) any allowance, bursary or award of similar description made under section 14 (4) (a) of the Health and Personal Social Services Act (Northern Ireland) 2001[^f00068] which includes payment for meeting additional expenditure incurred by the student by reason of his disability;

(b) he is in breach of an obligation to repay any loan;

(c) he has reached the age of 18 and has not ratified any agreement for a loan made with him when he was under the age of 18; or

(d) he has, in the opinion of the Department, shown himself by his conduct to be unfitted to receive support.

(5) For the purposes of paragraph (4)(b) and (c), “loan” means a loan made under the student loans legislation.

(6) In a case where the agreement for a loan is subject to the law of Scotland, paragraph (4)(c) only applies if the agreement was made—

(a) before 25th September 1991; and

(b) with the concurrence of the borrower’s curator or at a time when he had no curator.

(7) An eligible postgraduate student does not qualify for a grant under this Part if the only paragraph in Part 2 of Schedule 1 into which he falls is paragraph 9.

(8) An eligible postgraduate student does not qualify for a grant under this Part unless the Department considers that he is undertaking his course in the United Kingdom.

(9) Despite paragraphs (3)(a) and (4), a person is an eligible postgraduate student for the purposes of this Part if he satisfies the conditions in paragraph (3)(b) and in paragraph (10) or (11).

(10) The conditions are—

(a) the person qualified as an eligible postgraduate student in connection with an earlier academic year of the current designated postgraduate course pursuant to regulations made by the Department under Article 3 of the Order; and

(b) the person’s status as an eligible postgraduate student has not terminated.

(11) The conditions are—

(a) the Department has previously determined that the person is an eligible postgraduate student in connection with a designated postgraduate course other than the current designated postgraduate course;

(b) the student’s status as an eligible postgraduate student in connection with the course referred to in sub-paragraph (a) has been transferred from that course to the current designated postgraduate course as a result of one or more transfers in accordance with regulations made by the Department under Article 3 of the Order; and

(12) An eligible postgraduate student may not, at any one time, qualify for support for—

(a) more than one designated postgraduate course;

(b) a designated postgraduate course and a designated course;

(13) Where one of the events listed in paragraph (14) occurs in the course of an academic year—

(a) a student may qualify for a grant under this Part in respect of that academic year in accordance with this Part; and

(b) a grant of the kind available under this Part is not available in respect of any academic year beginning before the academic year in which the relevant event occurred.

(14) The events are—

(a) the student’s course becomes a designated postgraduate course;

(b) the student, his spouse, his civil partner or his parent is recognised as a refugee or becomes a person with leave to enter or remain as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 1;

(c) the state of which the student is a national accedes to the European Community where the student has been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and Islands throughout the three-year period immediately preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course;

(d) the student acquires the right of permanent residence as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 1;

(da) the student becomes the child of a Turkish worker;

(e) the student becomes a person described in paragraph 6(1)(a) of Schedule 1; or

(f) the student becomes the child of a Swiss national.

Designated postgraduate courses

102

(1) A postgraduate course is designated for the purposes of Article 3 of the Order and regulation 101 if—

(a) it is a course for entry to which a first degree (or equivalent qualification) or higher is normally required;

(b) it is a course—

(i) of at least one academic year’s duration; and

(ii) in the case of a part-time course, the duration of which does not exceed twice the period normally required to complete a full-time course leading to the same qualification;

(c) it is wholly provided by a publicly-funded educational institution or institutions in the United Kingdom or provided by such an institution or institutions in conjunction with an institution or institutions outside the United Kingdom; and

(d) it is not a course for the initial training of teachers or a course taken as part of an employment-based teacher training scheme.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)—

(a) a course is provided by an institution if it provides the teaching and supervision which comprise the course, whether or not it has entered an agreement with the student to provide the course;

(b) a university and any constituent college or institution in the nature of a college of a university is to be regarded as publicly funded if either the university or the constituent college or institution is publicly funded; and

(c) an institution is not to be regarded as publicly funded by reason only that it receives public funds from the governing body of a higher education institution in accordance with section 65(3A)of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992[^f00069].

(3) For the purposes of Article 3 of the Order and regulation 101, the Department may designate courses of higher education which are not designated under paragraph (1).

Period of eligibility

103

(1) An eligible postgraduate student retains his status as an eligible postgraduate student in connection with a designated postgraduate course until the status is terminated in accordance with this regulation.

(2) The period for which an eligible postgraduate student retains the status is the “period of eligibility”.

(3) Subject to the following paragraphs, the period of eligibility terminates at the end of the period ordinarily required for the completion of the designated postgraduate course.

(4) The period of eligibility terminates when the eligible postgraduate student—

(a) withdraws from his designated postgraduate course in circumstances where the Department has not transferred or will not transfer his status as an eligible postgraduate student to another course under regulation 104; or

(b) abandons or is expelled from his designated postgraduate course.

(5) The Department may terminate the period of eligibility where the eligible postgraduate student has shown himself by his conduct to be unfitted to receive support.

(6) If the Department is satisfied that an eligible postgraduate student has failed to comply with any requirement to provide information under this Part or has provided information which is inaccurate in a material particular, the Department may take such of the following actions as it considers appropriate in the circumstances—

(a) terminate the period of eligibility;

(b) determine that the student no longer qualifies for a grant or any particular amount of grant;

(7) Where the period of eligibility terminates on or before the expiry of the period ordinarily required for the completion of the designated postgraduate course, the Department may, at any time, renew the period of eligibility for such period as it determines.

Transfer of status

104

(1) Where an eligible postgraduate student transfers to another postgraduate course, the Department must transfer the student’s status as an eligible postgraduate student to that course where—

(a) it receives a request from the eligible postgraduate student to do so;

(b) it is satisfied that one or more of the grounds for transfer in paragraph (2) applies; and

(2) The grounds for transfer are—

(a) on the recommendation of the academic authority the eligible postgraduate student starts to undertake another designated postgraduate course at the institution; or

(b) the eligible postgraduate student starts to undertake a designated postgraduate course at another institution.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4), an eligible postgraduate student who transfers under paragraph (1) shall receive in connection with the academic year of the course to which he transfers the remainder of the support for which the Department has determined he qualifies in respect of the academic year of the course from which he transfers.

(4) The Department may re-assess the amount of support payable after the transfer.

(5) An eligible student who transfers under paragraph (1) after the Department has determined his support in connection with the academic year of the course from which he is transferring but before he completes that year may not apply for another grant under this Part in connection with the academic year of the course to which he transfers.

Applications for support

105

(1) A person (the “applicant”) must apply for a grant under this Part in connection with each academic year of a designated postgraduate course by completing and submitting to the Department an application in such form and accompanied by such documentation as the Department may require.

(2) The application must reach the Department as soon as is reasonably practicable.

(3) The Department may take such steps and make such inquiries as it considers necessary to determine whether the applicant is an eligible postgraduate student, whether he qualifies for a grant and the amount of grant payable, if any.

(4) The Department must notify the applicant—

(a) whether he qualifies for a grant;

(b) if he does qualify, the amount payable in respect of the academic year, if any; and

Information

106

Schedule 3 deals with the provision of information.

Amount of grants

107

(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the grant under this Part is such amount as the Department considers appropriate to assist with one or more types of eligible expenditure.

(2) The grant must not exceed £5,780 in respect of an academic year.

(3) For the purposes of this Part, the “types of eligible expenditure” are—

(a) expenditure on a non-medical helper;

(b) expenditure on major items of specialist equipment; and

(i) within the United Kingdom for the purpose of attending the institution;

(ii) within or outside the United Kingdom for the purpose of attending, as part of the course, any period of study at an overseas institution or for the purposes of attending the British Institute in Paris.

Payment of grants

108

(1) The Department may pay a grant for which a student qualifies under this Part in such instalments (if any) and at such times as it considers appropriate and in the exercise of its functions under this Part it may make provisional payments pending the final calculation of the amount of grant for which the student qualifies.

(2) Payments are made in such manner as the Department considers appropriate and it may make it a condition of entitlement to payment that the eligible postgraduate student must provide it with particulars of a bank or building society account in the United Kingdom into which payments may be made by electronic transfer.

Overpayments

109

(1) An eligible postgraduate student must, if so required by the Department, repay any amount paid to him under this Part which for whatever reason exceeds the amount of grant to which he is entitled under this Part.

(2) The Department must recover an overpayment of grant under this Part unless it considers it is not appropriate to do so.

(3) The methods of recovery are—

(a) subtracting the overpayment from any kind of grant payable to the student from time to time pursuant to regulations made by the Department under Article 3 of the Order;

(b) taking such other action for the recovery of an overpayment as is available to the Department.

(4) A payment of grant under this Part made before the relevant date is an overpayment if the student withdraws from the course before the relevant date unless the Department decides otherwise.

(5) In this regulation, the “relevant date” is the date on which the first term of the academic year in question actually begins.

(6) In the circumstances in paragraphs (7) and (8), there is an overpayment of grant under this Part unless the Department decides otherwise.

(7) The circumstances are—

(a) the Department applies all or part of the grant under this Part to the purchase of specialist equipment on behalf of the eligible postgraduate student;

(b) the student withdraws from, abandons or is expelled from the course after the relevant date; and

(c) the equipment has not been delivered to the student before he withdraws from, abandons or is expelled from the course.

(8) The circumstances are—

(a) the eligible postgraduate student withdraws from, abandons or is expelled from the course after the relevant date; and

(b) a payment of grant under this Part in respect of specialist equipment is made to the student after he withdraws from, abandons or is expelled from the course.

(9) Where there is an overpayment of the grant under this Part, the Department may accept the return of specialist equipment purchased with the grant by way of recovery of all or part of the overpayment if it considers it is appropriate to do so.

SCHEDULE 1 — ELIGIBLE STUDENTS

PART 1 — Interpretation

1

(1) For the purposes of this Schedule—

“Directive 2004/38” means Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29th April 2004[^f00070] on the rights of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely in the territory of the Member States;

“EC national” means a national of a Member State of the European Community;

“EEA Agreement” means the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2nd May 1992[^f00071] as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17th March 1993[^f00072];

“EEA frontier self-employed person” means an EEA national who—is a self-employed person in Northern Ireland; andresides in Switzerland or the territory of an EEA State other than the United Kingdom and returns to his residence in Switzerland or that EEA State, as the case may be, daily or at least once a week;

“EEA frontier worker” means an EEA national who—is a worker in Northern Ireland; andresides in Switzerland or the territory of an EEA State other than the United Kingdom and returns to his residence in Switzerland or that EEA State, as the case may be, daily or at least once a week;

“EEA migrant worker” means an EEA national who is a worker, other than an EEA frontier worker, in the United Kingdom;

“EEA national” means a national of an EEA State other than the United Kingdom;

“EEA self-employed person” means an EEA national who is a self-employed person, other than an EEA frontier self-employed person, in the United Kingdom;

“EEA State” means a Member State of the European Economic Area;

“employed person” means an employed person within the meaning of Annex 1 to the Swiss Agreement;

“European Economic Area” means the area comprised by the European Community, the Republic of Iceland, the Kingdom of Norway and the Principality of Liechtenstein;

“family member” unless otherwise indicated, means—in relation to an EEA frontier worker, an EEA migrant worker, an EEA frontier self-employed person or an EEA self-employed person—his spouse or civil partner;his child or the child of his spouse or civil partner; ordependent direct relatives in his ascending line or that of his spouse or civil partner;in relation to a Swiss employed person, a Swiss frontier employed person, a Swiss frontier self-employed person or a Swiss self-employed person—his spouse or civil partner; orhis child or the child of his spouse or civil partner;in relation to an EC national who is not self sufficient—his spouse or civil partner; ordirect descendants of his or of his spouse or civil partner who are—under the age of 21; ordependants of his or his spouse or civil partner;in relation to an EC national who is self-sufficient—his spouse or civil partner;direct descendants of his or of his spouse or civil partner who are—under the age of 21; ordependants of his or his spouse or civil partner; ordependent direct relatives in his ascending line or that of his spouse or civil partner;in relation to a United Kingdom national, for the purposes of paragraph 9—his spouse or civil partner; ordirect descendants of his or his spouse or civil partner who are—under the age of 21; ordependants of his or his spouse or civil partner;

“person with leave to enter or remain” means a person who—has been informed by a person acting under the authority of the Secretary of the State for the Home Department that, although he is considered not to qualify for recognition as a refugee, it is thought right to allow him to enter or remain in the United Kingdom;has been granted leave to enter or to remain accordingly; andhas been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and Islands throughout the period since he was granted leave to enter or remain;

“right of permanent residence” means a right arising under Directive 2004/38 to reside in the United Kingdom permanently without restriction;

“self-employed person” means—in relation to an EEA national, a person who is self-employed within the meaning of Article 7 of Directive 2004/38 or the EEA Agreement, as the case may be; orin relation to a Swiss national, a person who is a self-employed person within the meaning of Annex 1 to the Swiss Agreement;

“self-sufficient” means self-sufficient within the meaning of Article 7(1)(b) of Directive 2004/38;

“settled” has the meaning given by section 33(2A) of the Immigration Act 1971[^f00073];

“Swiss Agreement” means the Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Swiss Confederation, of the other, on the Free Movement of Persons signed at Luxembourg on 21st June 1999[^f00074] and which came into force on 1st June 2002;

“Swiss employed person” means a Swiss national who is an employed person, other than a Swiss frontier employed person, in the United Kingdom;

“Swiss frontier employed person” means a Swiss national who—is an employed person in Northern Ireland; andresides in Switzerland or in the territory of an EEA State other than the United Kingdom and returns to his residence in Switzerland or that EEA State, as the case may be, daily or at least once a week;

“Swiss frontier self-employed person”means a Swiss national who—is a self-employed person in Northern Ireland; andresides in Switzerland or in the territory of an EEA State, other than the United Kingdom, and returns to his residence in Switzerland or that EEA State, as the case may be, daily or at least once a week;

“Swiss self-employed person” means a Swiss national who is a self-employed person, other than a Swiss frontier self-employed person, in the United Kingdom;

“United Kingdom national” means a person who falls to be treated as a national of the United Kingdom for the purposes of the Community Treaties;

“worker” means a worker within the meaning of Article 7 of Directive 2004/38 or the EEA Agreement, as the case may be;

(2) For the purposes of this Schedule, “parent” includes a guardian, any other person having parental responsibility for a child and any person having care of a child and “child” is to be construed accordingly.

(3) For the purposes of this Schedule, a person who is ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland, or the Islands, as a result of having moved from another of those areas for the purpose of undertaking—

(a) the current course; or

(b) a course which, disregarding any intervening vacation, the student undertook immediately before undertaking the current course,

is to be considered to be ordinarily resident in the place from which he moved.

(4) For the purposes of this Schedule, a person is to be treated as ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom and Islands, the territory comprising the European Economic Area and Switzerland or the territory comprising the European Economic Area, Switzerland and Turkey if he would have been so resident but for the fact that—

(a) he;

(b) his spouse or civil partner;

(d) in the case of a dependent direct relative in the ascending line, his child or his child’s spouse or civil partner,

is or was temporarily employed outside the area in question.

(5) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (4), temporary employment outside of Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom and Islands, the territory comprising the European Economic Area and Switzerland or the territory comprising the European Economic Area, Switzerland and Turkey includes—

(a) in the case of members of the regular naval, military or air forces of the Crown, any period which they serve outside the United Kingdom as members of such forces;

(b) in the case of members of the regular armed forces of an EEA State or Switzerland, any period which they serve outside of the territory comprising the European Economic Area and Switzerland as members of such forces; and

(c) in the case of members of the regular armed forces of Turkey, any period which they serve outside the territory comprising the European Economic Area, Switzerland and Turkey as members of such forces.

(6) For the purposes of this Schedule an area which—

(a) was previously not part of the European Community or the European Economic Area; but

(b) at any time before or after these Regulations come into operation has become part of one or other or both of these areas,

is to be considered to have always been a part of the European Economic Area.

PART 2 — Categories

Persons who are settled in the United Kingdom

2

(1) A person who on the first day of the first academic year of the course—

(a) is settled in the United Kingdom other than by reason of having acquired the right of permanent residence;

(b) is ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland;

(c) has been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and Islands throughout the three-year period preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course; and

(d) subject to sub-paragraph (2), whose residence in the United Kingdom and Islands has not during any part of the period referred to in paragraph (c) been wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education.

(2) Paragraph (d) of sub-paragraph (1) does not apply to a person who is treated as being ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and Islands in accordance with paragraph 1(4).

3

(1) A person who—

(a) is settled in the United Kingdom by virtue of having acquired the right of permanent residence;

(b) is ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland on the first day of the first academic year of the course;

(c) has been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and Islands throughout the three-year period preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course; and

(d) in a case where his ordinary residence referred to in paragraph (c) was wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education, was ordinarily resident in the territory comprising the European Economic Area and Switzerland immediately before the period of ordinary residence referred to in paragraph (c).

Refugees and persons with leave to enter or remain

4

A person who—

(a) is either—

(i) a refugee ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and Islands who has not ceased to be so resident since he was recognised as a refugee; or

(ii) the spouse, civil partner, child or step-child of a person mentioned in paragraph (i); and

(b) is ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland on the first day of the first academic year of the course.

5

A person who—

(a) is either—

(i) a person with leave to enter or remain; or

(ii) the spouse, civil partner, child or step-child of a person with leave to enter or remain;

(b) is ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland on the first day of the first academic year of the course; and

(c) has been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and Islands throughout the three-year period preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course.

Workers, employed persons, self-employed persons and their family members

6

(1) A person who—

(a) is—

(i) an EEA migrant worker or an EEA self-employed person;

(ii) a Swiss employed person or a Swiss self-employed person;

(iii) a family member of a person mentioned in paragraph (i) or (ii);

(iv) an EEA frontier worker or an EEA frontier self-employed person;

(v) a Swiss frontier employed person or a Swiss frontier self-employed person; or

(vi) a family member of a person mentioned in paragraph (iv) or (v);

(b) subject to sub-paragraph (2), is ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland on the first day of the first academic year of the course; and

(c) has been ordinarily resident in the territory comprising the European Economic Area and Switzerland throughout the three-year period preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course.

(2) Paragraph (b) of sub-paragraph (1) does not apply where the person applying for support falls within paragraph (a)(iv), (v) or (vi) of sub-paragraph (1).

7

A person who—

(a) is ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland on the first day of the first academic year of the course;

(b) has been ordinarily resident in the territory comprising the European Economic Area and Switzerland throughout the three-year period preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course; and

(c) is entitled to support by virtue of Article 12 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1612/68 on the freedom of movement of workers[^f00075], as extended by the EEA Agreement.

Persons who are settled in the United Kingdom and have exercised a right of residence elsewhere

8

(1) A person who—

(a) is settled in the United Kingdom;

(b) left the United Kingdom and exercised a right of residence after having been settled in the United Kingdom;

(c) is ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland on the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins;

(d) has been ordinarily resident in the territory comprising the European Economic Area and Switzerland throughout the three-year period preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course; and

(e) in a case where his ordinary residence referred to in paragraph (d) was wholly or mainly for the purposes of receiving full-time education, was ordinarily resident in the territory comprising the European Economic Area and Switzerland immediately before the period of ordinary residence referred to in paragraph (d).

(2) For the purposes of this paragraph, a person has exercised a right of residence if he is a United Kingdom national, a family member of a United Kingdom national for the purposes of Article 7 of Directive 2004/38 (or corresponding purposes under the EEA Agreement or Swiss Agreement) or a person who has a right of permanent residence who in each case has exercised a right under Article 7 of Directive 2004/38 or any equivalent right under the EEA Agreement or Swiss Agreement in a state other than the United Kingdom or, in the case of a person who is settled in the United Kingdom and has a right of permanent residence, if he goes to the state within the territory comprising the European Economic Area and Switzerland of which he is a national or of which the person in relation to whom he is a family member is a national.

EC nationals

9

(1) A person who—

(a) is either—

(i) an EC national on the first day of the first academic year of the course; or

(ii) a family member of a such a person;

(b) is—

(i) attending a designated course in Northern Ireland; or

(ii) undertaking a designated part-time course or a designated postgraduate course in Northern Ireland;

(c) has been ordinarily resident in the territory comprising the European Economic Area and Switzerland throughout the three-year period preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course; and

(d) subject to sub-paragraph (2), whose ordinary residence in the territory comprising the European Economic Area and Switzerland has not during any part of the period referred to in paragraph (c) been wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education.

(2) Paragraph (d) of sub-paragraph (1) does not apply to a person who is treated as being ordinarily resident in the territory comprising the European Economic Area and Switzerland in accordance with paragraph 1(4).

(3) Where a state accedes to the European Community after the first day of the first academic year of the course and a person is a national of that state or the family member of a national of that state, the requirement in paragraph (a) of sub-paragraph (1) to be an EC national on the first day of the first academic year of the course is treated as being satisfied.

10

(1) A person who—

(a) is an EC national other than a United Kingdom national on the first day of the first academic year of the course;

(b) is ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland on the first day of the first academic year of the course;

(c) has been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and Islands throughout the three-year period immediately preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course; and

(d) in a case where his ordinary residence referred to in paragraph (c) was wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education, was ordinarily resident in the territory comprising the European Economic Area and Switzerland immediately before the period of ordinary residence referred to in paragraph (c).

(2) Where a state accedes to the European Community after the first day of the first academic year of the course and a person is a national of that state, the requirement in paragraph (a) of sub-paragraph (1) to be an EC national other than a United Kingdom national on the first day of the first academic year of the course is treated as being satisfied.

Children of Swiss nationals

11

A person who—

(a) is the child of a Swiss national who is entitled to support in the United Kingdom by virtue of article 3(6) of Annex 1 to the Swiss Agreement;

(b) is ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland on the first day of the first academic year of the course;

(c) has been ordinarily resident in the territory comprising the European Economic Area and Switzerland throughout the three-year period preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course; and

(d) in a case where his ordinary residence referred to in paragraph (c) was wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education, was ordinarily resident in the territory comprising the European Economic Area and Switzerland immediately before the period of ordinary residence referred to in paragraph (c).

SCHEDULE 2 — DESIGNATED COURSES

1

A first degree course.

2

A course for the Diploma of Higher Education.

3

A course for the Higher National Diploma or Higher National Certificate of—

(a) the Business & Technician Education Council; or

(b) the Scottish Qualifications Authority.

4

A course for the initial training of teachers.

5

A course for the further training of youth and community workers.

6

A course in preparation for a professional examination of a standard higher than that of—

(a) examination at advanced level for the General Certificate of Education or the examination at higher level for the Scottish Certificate of Education; or

(b) the examination for the National Certificate or the National Diploma of either of the bodies mentioned in paragraph 3,

not being a course for entry to which a first degree (or equivalent qualification) is normally required.

7

A course providing education (whether or not in preparation for an examination) the standard of which is—

(a) higher than that of courses providing education in preparation for any of the examinations mentioned in paragraph 6(a) or (b); but

(b) not higher than that of a first degree course,

and for entry to which a first degree (or equivalent qualification) is not normally required.

SCHEDULE 3 — INFORMATION

1

Every applicant, eligible student, eligible part-time student and eligible postgraduate student must, as soon as reasonably practicable after he is requested to do so, provide the Department with such information as the Department considers it requires for the purposes of these Regulations.

2

Every applicant, eligible student, eligible part-time student and eligible postgraduate student must forthwith inform the Department and provide it with particulars if any of the following occurs—

(a) he withdraws from, abandons or is expelled from his course;

(b) he transfers to any other course at the same or at a different institution;

(c) he ceases to undertake his course and does not intend to or is not permitted to continue it for the remainder of the academic year;

(d) he is absent from his course for more than 60 days due to illness or for any period for any other reason;

(e) the month for the start or completion of the course changes;

(f) his home or term-time address or telephone number changes.

3

Information provided to the Department pursuant to these Regulations must be in the format that the Department requires and, if it requires the information to be signed by the person providing it, an electronic signature in such form as the Department may specify satisfies such a requirement.

SCHEDULE 4 — FINANCIAL ASSESSMENT

Definitions

1

In this Schedule:—

(a) “existing student” means an eligible student who is not a new eligible student;

(b) “financial year” means the period of twelve months in respect of which the income of a person whose residual income is calculated under the provisions of this Schedule is computed for the purposes of the income tax legislation which applies to it;

(d) “independent eligible student” has the meaning given in paragraph 2;

(e) “Member State” means a Member State of the European Union;

(f) “new eligible student” means an eligible student who begins a specified designated course on or after 1st September 2004;

(g) “parent” means a natural or adoptive parent and “child”, “mother” and “father” are to be construed accordingly;

(h) “parent student” means an eligible student who is the parent of an eligible student;

(i) “partner” in relation to an eligible student means any of the following—

(i) the spouse of an eligible student;

(ii) the civil partner of an eligible student;

(iii) a person ordinarily living with an eligible student as if he were his spouse where an eligible student falls within paragraph 2(1)(a) and he begins the specified designated course on or after 1st September 2000;

(iv) a person ordinarily living with an eligible student as if he were his civil partner where an eligible student falls within paragraph 2(1)(a) and he begins the specified designated course on or after 1st September 2005;

(j) “partner” in relation to the parent of an eligible student means any of the following other than another parent of the eligible student—

(i) the spouse of an eligible student’s parent;

(ii) the civil partner of an eligible student’s parent;

(iii) a person ordinarily living with the parent of an eligible student as if he were the parent’s spouse;

(iv) a person ordinarily living with the parent of an eligible student as if he were the parent’s civil partner;

(k) “preceding financial year” means the financial year immediately preceding the relevant year;

(l) “relevant year” means the academic year in respect of which the household income falls to be assessed;

(m) “residual income” means taxable income after the application of paragraph 4 (in the case of an eligible student), paragraph 5 (in the case of an eligible student’s parent), paragraph 6 (in the case of an eligible student’s partner) or paragraph 7 (in the case of the partner of a new eligible student’s parent); and

(n) “taxable income” means, in relation to paragraph 4, in respect of the academic year for which an application has been made under regulation 8 and, in relation to paragraph 5, in respect (subject to sub-paragraphs (3), (4) and (5) of paragraph 5) of the preceding financial year, a person’s taxable income from all sources computed as for the purposes of—

(i) the Income Tax Acts;

(ii) the income tax legislation of another Member State which applies to the person’s income; or

(iii) where the legislation of more than one Member State applies to the period, the legislation under which the Department considers the person will pay the largest amount of tax in that period (except as otherwise provided in paragraph 5).

Independent eligible student

2

(1) An independent eligible student is an eligible student where—

(a) he is aged 25 or over on the first day of the relevant year;

(b) he is married or is in a civil partnership before the beginning of the relevant year, whether or not the marriage or civil partnership is still subsisting;

(d) the Department is satisfied that neither of his parents can be found or that it is not reasonably practicable to get in touch with either of them;

(e) he has communicated with neither of his parents for the period of one year before the beginning of the relevant year or, in the opinion of the Department, he can demonstrate on other grounds that he is irreconcilably estranged from his parents;

(f) he was looked after by an authority (within the meaning of Articles 25 and 26 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995[^f00076]) throughout any three-month period ending on or after the date on which he attained the age of 16 and before the first day of the first academic year of the course (the “relevant period”) provided that he has not in fact at any time during the relevant period been under the charge or control of his parents;

(g) his parents are residing outside the European Community and the Department is satisfied that either—

(i) the assessment of the household income by reference to their residual income would place those parents in jeopardy; or

(ii) it would not be reasonably practicable for those parents as a result of the calculation of any contribution under paragraph 8 or 9 to send any relevant funds to the United Kingdom;

(h) paragraph 5(9) applies and the parent whom the Department considered the more appropriate for the purposes of that paragraph has died (irrespective of whether the parent in question had a partner);

(i) he is a member of a religious order who resides in a house of that order;

(j) as at the first day of the relevant year, he has the care of a person under the age of 18; or

(k) he has supported himself out of his earnings for any period or periods ending before the first academic year of the course which periods together aggregate not less than three years, and for the purposes of this sub-paragraph he is to be treated as supporting himself out of his earnings during any period in which—

(i) he was participating in arrangements for training for the unemployed under any scheme operated by, sponsored or funded by any state authority or agency, whether national, regional or local (“a relevant authority”);

(ii) he was in receipt of benefit payable by any relevant authority in respect of a person who is available for employment but who is unemployed;

(iii) he was available for employment and had complied with any requirement of registration imposed by a relevant authority as a condition of entitlement for participation in arrangements for training or receipt of benefit;

(iv) he held a State Studentship or comparable award; or

(v) he received any pension, allowance or other benefit paid by any person by reason of a disability to which he is subject, or by reason of confinement, injury or sickness.

(2) An eligible student who qualifies as an independent eligible student under paragraph 2(1)(j) in respect of an academic year of a designated course retains that status for the duration of the period of eligibility.

Household income

3

(1) The amount of an eligible student’s contribution depends on the household income.

(2) The household income is—

(a) in the case of an eligible student who is not an independent eligible student, the residual income of the eligible student aggregated with the residual income of the eligible student’s parents (subject to paragraph 5(9)) and—

(i) in the case of a new eligible student who began his specified designated course before 1st September 2005, the residual income of the partner (other than a partner within the meaning of paragraph 1(j)(iv)) of the student’s parent (provided that the Department has selected that parent under paragraph 5(9)); or

(ii) in the case of a new eligible student who began his specified designated course on or after 1st September 2005, the residual income of the partner of the student’s parent (provided that the Department has selected that parent under paragraph 5(9));

(b) in the case of an independent eligible student who has a partner, the residual income of the eligible student aggregated with the residual income of the eligible student’s partner (subject to sub-paragraph (4)); or

(c) in the case of an independent eligible student who does not have a partner, the residual income of the eligible student.

(3) In determining the household income under sub-paragraph (2), there is deducted the sum of £1,050—

(a) for each child wholly or mainly financially dependent on the eligible student or the eligible student’s partner; or

(b) for each child other than the eligible student wholly or mainly financially dependent on the eligible student’s parent or the eligible student’s parent’s partner whose residual income is being taken into account.

(4) For the purpose of calculating the contribution payable in respect of a parent student, the residual income of the parent student’s partner must not be aggregated under paragraph (b) of sub-paragraph (2) in the case of a parent student whose child or whose partner’s child holds an award in respect of which the household income is calculated with reference to the residual income of the parent student or of the parent student’s partner or of both.

Calculation of eligible student’s residual income

4

(1) For the purpose of determining the residual income of an eligible student, there is deducted from his taxable income (unless already deducted in determining taxable income) the aggregate of any amounts falling within any of the following sub-paragraphs—

(a) any remuneration for work done during any academic year of the eligible student’s course, provided that such remuneration does not include any sums paid in respect of any period for which he has leave of absence or is relieved of his normal duties for the purpose of attending that course;

(b) the gross amount of any premium or other sum paid by the eligible student in relation to a pension (not being a pension payable under a policy of life insurance) in respect of which relief is given under section 273, 619 or 639 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988[^f00077] or under section 188 of the Finance Act 2004[^f00078], or where the eligible student’s income is computed for the purposes of the income tax legislation of another Member State, the gross amount of any such premium or sum in respect of which relief would be given if that legislation made provision equivalent to the Income Tax Acts.

(2) Where the only paragraph in Part 2 of Schedule 1 into which an eligible student falls is paragraph 9 and his income arises from sources or under legislation different from sources or legislation normally relevant to a person referred to in paragraph 9 of Schedule 1, his income is not disregarded in accordance with sub-paragraph (1) but is instead disregarded to the extent necessary to ensure that he is treated no less favourably than a person who is referred to in any paragraph of Part 2 of Schedule 1 would be treated if in similar circumstances and in receipt of similar income.

(3) Where the eligible student receives income in a currency other than sterling, the value of that income for the purpose of this paragraph is—

(a) if the student purchases sterling with the income, the amount of sterling the student so receives;

(b) otherwise, the value of the sterling which the income would purchase using the rate for the month in which it is received published by the Office for National Statistics[^f00079].

Calculation of parent’s residual income

5

(1) For the purposes of determining the taxable income of an eligible student’s parent, any deductions which fall to be made or exemptions which are permitted—

(a) by way of personal reliefs provided for in Chapter 1 of Part VII of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 or, where the income is computed for the purposes of the income tax legislation of another Member State, any comparable personal reliefs;

(b) pursuant to any enactment or rule of law under which payments which would otherwise under United Kingdom law form part of a person’s income are not treated as such; or

must not be made or permitted.

(2) For the purposes of determining the residual income of an eligible student’s parent, there is deducted from the taxable income determined under sub-paragraph (1) the aggregate of any amounts falling within any of the following sub-paragraphs—

(a) the gross amount of any premium or sum relating to a pension (not being a premium payable under a policy of life assurance) in respect of which relief is given under section 273, 619 or 639 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 or under section 188 of the Finance Act 2004, or where the income is computed for the purposes of the income tax legislation of another Member State, the gross amount of any such premium in respect of which relief would be given if that legislation made provision equivalent to the Income Tax Acts;

(b) in any case where income is computed for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts by virtue of sub-paragraph (6) any sums equivalent to the deduction mentioned in paragraph (a) of this sub-paragraph, provided that any sums so deducted do not exceed the deductions which would be made if the whole of the eligible student’s parent’s income were in fact income for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts;

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