The Education (Student Loans) Regulations 1991

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Education (Student Loans)Regulations 1991 and shall come into force on 1st August 1991.

Revocation

2.  The Education (Student Loans) Regulations 1990(1) and the Education (Student Loans) (Amendment)Regulations 1991(2) are hereby revoked.

Interpretation

3.—(1) In these Regulations, except where the context otherwiserequires—

“the Act” means the Education (Student Loans) Act 1990;

“borrower” means a person to whom a loan has been made;

“eligible” means eligible for the purposes of section 1 of the Act read withregulation 4 and the Schedule to these Regulations;

“full-time course” means a sandwich course or a course—

(a)

which persons undertaking it are normally required by theinstitution providing it to attend (whether at premises of theinstitution or elsewhere)—

(i)

in the case of a course of one academic year’s duration, for aperiod of at least 24 weeks; and

(ii)

in the case of a course of two or more academic years'duration, for a period of at least 24 weeks in each academic year exceptthe final year and of at least eight weeks in the final year; and

(b)

the nature of which is such that a person undertaking it wouldnormally require to undertake periods of study, tuition or workexperience which together amount in each academic year to an average ofat least 21 hours a week as respects the periods of attendance mentioned insub-paragraph (a) above for the year;

“loan” means a loan (whether made before or after the coming into force ofthese Regulations) towards a student’s maintenance out of money madeavailable by the Secretary of State for that purpose pursuant toarrangements made by the Secretary of State by virtue of section 1 ofthe Act, including the interest accrued on the loan and the amount ofthe loan from time to time outstanding;

“loans administrator” means any person or body for the time being exercising functions inrelation to loans under arrangements made with the Secretary of Statepursuant to paragraph 3 of Schedule 2 to the Act;

“periods of work experience” means periods of industrial, professional or commercial experienceassociated with full-time study at an institution but at a place outsidethe institution;

“refugee” means a person who is recognised by Her Majesty’s government as arefugee within the meaning of the United Nations Convention relating tothe Status of Refugees done at Geneva on 28th July 1951(3) as extended by the Protocol thereto which entered intoforce on 4th October 1967(4) or a person who enjoys asylum in the United Kingdom inpursuance of a decision of Her Majesty’s government though not sorecognised, and any reference to the child of a refugee includes areference to a person adopted in pursuance of adoption proceedings and astep-child; and

“sandwich course” means a course consisting of alternate periods of full-time studyin an institution and periods of work experience so organised that,taking the course as a whole, the student attends the periods offull-time study for an average of not less than 19 weeks in each year;and for the purpose of calculating his attendance the course shall betreated as beginning with the first period of full-time study and endingwith the last such period.

(2) For the purposes of these Regulations an academic year which beginsin the month of July in any year shall be deemed to begin in the monthof August immediately following that month.

(3) In these Regulations any reference to a regulation is a reference toa regulation of these Regulations, any reference in a regulation to aparagraph is a reference to a paragraph of that regulation, and anyreference in a paragraph to a sub-paragraph is a reference to asub-paragraph of that paragraph.

Conditions of eligibility

4.—(1) A student attending a course of higher education of at least oneacademic year’s duration shall be eligible for a loan in relation to anacademic year which begins on or after 1st August 1991 if—

(a) his course of study during that academic year forms part or allof—

(i) a full-time course; or

(ii) a course (whether or not full-time) for the initial trainingof teachers which is for the time being designated by or underregulations made by virtue of section 1(2)(b) and (3)(c) of theEducation Act 1962(5); and

(b) (i) he satisfies the conditions prescribed in the Schedule tothese Regulations; or

(ii) in respect of the course he satisfies one of the conditions ofeligibility for an allowance set down in paragraphs (a), (b) and (f) of regulation 5 of the Students' Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 1987(6); or

(iii) before the commencement of or at any time during thatacademic year he has been recognised as a refugee or awarded asylum andfrom that time he has been ordinarily resident in the British Islands,or is the spouse or child of such a person; and

(c) he has agreed with the loans administrator to accept payment of theloan by direct credit to his bank or building society account and hasprovided the administrator with a signed direct debit mandate in favourof the administrator in respect of repayments of the loan from thataccount; and

(d) he has entered into an agreement for the loan not later than theend of the period of 12 months beginning on 1st August in which thatacademic year begins; and

(e) he is not a person to whom paragraph (2) applies.

(2) This paragraph applies to a person who—

(a) before the date on which the course begins has attained the age offifty years; or

(b) is attending a course leading to registration on Part 12, 13, 14 or15 of the register maintained by the United Kingdom Central Council forNursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting under section 10 of the Nurses,Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1979(7) and is eligible to receive payment of a bursary orsalary out of funds paid by the Secretary of State under section 97 ofthe National Health Service Act 1977(8) or section 85(1) of the National Health Service(Scotland) Act 1978(9); or

(c) is studying for the Postgraduate Certificate in Education as aparticipant in arrangements made by a local education authority for thetraining of teachers known as the“Articled Teachers Scheme”; or

(d) is in breach of any obligation contained in any agreement for aloan; or

(e) subject to paragraph (3) was a minor when any agreement for a loanwas made with him and who has not ratified that agreement afterattaining his majority.

(3) In the case of an agreement for a loan which is subject to the lawof Scotland, sub-paragraph (e) of paragraph (2) shall apply onlyif—

(a) the agreement was made with the concurrence of the borrower'scurator; or

(b) at the time the agreement was made the borrower had no curator.

(4) A student shall not be eligible for a loan in relation to more thanone academic year or more than one course beginning in any period oftwelve months beginning on 1st August in any year.

Designation of courses by Secretary of State

5.  For the purposes of section 1 of the Act the Secretary of State maydesignate courses of higher education at institutions other thaninstitutions receiving support from public funds.

Amounts of loans

6.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), in the case of a studentattending a course at the University of London or at any institutionwithin the area comprising the City of London and the metropolitanpolice district, the maximum amount of the loan in relation to anyacademic year shall be—

(a) if the year is the final year of the course, £335 if heresides at his parents' home, and £480 if he does not; and

(b) if the year is any other year of the course £460 if heresides at his parents' home, and £660 if he does not.

(2) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), in the case of any other studentthe maximum amount of the loan in relation to any academic year shallbe—

(a) if the year is the final year of the course, £335 if heresides at his parents' home, and £425 if he does not; and

(b) if the year is any other year of the course, £460 if heresides at his parents' home, and £580 if he does not.

(3) Where a student’s course includes a period of residence in a countryother than the United Kingdom throughout an academic year, the maximumamount of the loan in relation to that academic year shall be£425 if the year is the final year of the course and£580 if it is not.

(4) For the purposes of paragraphs (1) to (3) where a course for thePostgraduate Certificate in Education is of only one academic year'sduration that year shall not be treated as a final year, and for thepurposes of paragraphs (1) and (2) a student’s place of residence is hisplace of residence on the date a certificate is given in respect of himpursuant to regulation 13.

Interest

7.—(1) Notwithstanding the revocation of the Education (Student Loans)Regulations 1990 loans shall bear interest in respect of the periodconsisting of the month of August 1991 at the rate specified inregulation 6 of those regulations.

(2) Loans shall bear interest in respect of any period commencing on orafter 1st September 1991 at the rate specified in paragraphs (3) and(4), being the rate appearing to the Secretary of State to be requisitefor maintaining the value of the loans in real terms.

(3) That rate is the rate of interest per day which, in relation to aloan made on or after 1st September 1991, taking account of the additionof interest to the outstanding amount of the loan in accordance withregulation 8, will result in an annual percentage rate of chargedetermined in accordance with the Consumer Credit (Total Charge forCredit) Regulations 1980(10) which is equal to the percentage specified in paragraph(4).

(4) That percentage is the percentage increase between the retail pricesindex published by the Central Statistical Office of the Chancellor ofthe Exchequer for June 1990 and the retail prices index so published forJune 1991.

Time and manner of repayments

8.—(1) Subject to regulations 9 to 12 a borrower shall commence repaymentof his loan on 1st April next following the date on which he ceased toattend the course.

(2) Subject to regulations 9 to 12 repayments shall be made in 60monthly instalments calculated in accordance with paragraphs (5) and (6)in the case of a borrower who has received a loan in relation to lessthan five academic years and in 84 such instalments calculated asaforesaid in all other cases.

(3) Interest accrued on a loan shall be added to the loan at regularmonthly intervals and thenceforth form part of the outstanding amount ofthe loan.

(4) On or before the date referred to in paragraph (1), the amount ofthe monthly repayments shall be calculated in accordance with paragraph(5).

(5) The amount of the loan outstanding on the relevant 1st April and ofinterest which will accrue during the period of repayment shall bedivided by the number of repayments, and the amount so calculated shallbe the amount of the monthly repayment until it is re-calculated inaccordance with paragraph (6).

(6) On 1st September next following the date referred to in paragraph(1), and in each subsequent year on that date until the loan has beenrepaid or cancelled, the amount of the loan outstanding on that date andof interest which will accrue during the remaining period of repaymentshall be divided by the number of repayments still to be made and theamount so calculated shall be the amount of the monthly repayment.

(7) For the purposes of calculating monthly repayments under paragraphs(5) and (6) it shall be assumed that—

(a) (if it is not the case) any repayments due prior to the relevantdate have been made;

(b) the rate of interest will not change during the period ofrepayment; and

(c) each repayment will be applied to reduce the amount of the loanimmediately after the addition of interest in accordance with paragraph(3).

(8) Repayments shall be made by direct debit from the borrower’s bank orbuilding society account unless the loans administrator agreesotherwise.

(9) Nothing in this regulation shall be taken to prevent a borrower,after giving notice to the loans administrator, from discharging or withthe agreement of the loans administrator reducing his liability inrespect of his loan sooner than required by the regulation, and where aborrower wishes so to reduce his liability the amount and time ofrepayments shall be determined by the loans administrator and theprovisions of this regulation (except paragraphs (3) and (8)) shall nolonger apply to the loan.

9.  Notwithstanding the provisions of regulation 8, the loansadministrator may, in the case of a borrower who is in breach of anobligation to repay any loan instalment, do either or both of thefollowing, namely:

(a) grant any relaxation or indulgence to the borrower which does notvary the agreement for the loan;

(b) require the borrower to make an immediate repayment of theoutstanding amount of the loan:

Provided that the loans administrator shall not grant any relaxation or indulgence in accordance with paragraph (a) unless it is satisfied that such action represents a more effective means of recovering the debt due under the agreement than instituting legal proceedings against the borrower.

Repayment by disabled borrowers

10.—(1) In the case of a borrower receiving any disability-related benefit(as defined in regulation 11(5)) at the beginning of or at any timeduring the period of repayment determined in accordance with regulation8, the loans administrator may do all or any of the following, namely:

(a) allow the borrower to commence repayment of the loan, at such datelater than that provided by regulation 8 as the loans administratorconsiders appropriate; or

(b) allow the borrower to defer making repayments of the loan untilsuch later date; or

(c) allow the borrower such longer period for repayment of the loanthan that provided by regulation 8 as the loans administrator considersappropriate:

but interest on the loan shall continue to accrue and to beadded to the outstanding amount of the loan during any period in whichrepayments are not being made or any extended period of repayment.

(2) The loans administrator may exercise any discretion conferred on itby paragraph (1) notwithstanding that the outstanding amount of the loanwill not in consequence be fully repaid before the borrower’s liabilityin respect thereof is cancelled by virtue of paragraphs (1)(b) and (2)of regulation 12.

Deferment

11.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this regulation, a borrower shall beentitled to defer making repayments of his loan if he satisfies theloans administrator—

(a) that his gross income for the month preceding the month in which heapplies for deferment does not exceed £1055; and

(b) if the loans administrator so requires, that his gross averagemonthly income during the three months immediately following the monthfirst referred to in sub-paragraph (a) will not or is unlikely to exceed£1055.

(2) If a borrower falls within paragraph (1), he shall not be obliged tomake repayments during a period of twelve months beginning with suchdate as may be determined by the loans administrator, being a date notmore than twelve months earlier or one month later than the date onwhich the loans administrator notifies the borrower that it is satisfiedthat he is entitled to defer making repayments.

(3) Notwithstanding deferment a borrower may at any time after givingnotice to the loans administrator resume making repayments at any timebefore the end of the period of deferment.

(4) In determining whether a borrower’s gross monthly income exceeds,will exceed or is likely to exceed the amount specified in paragraph (1)no account shall be taken of any disability-related benefits paid orwhich will or are likely to be paid to him in the months in question.

(5) In paragraph (4)“disability-related benefits” means—

(a) the benefits or allowances payable pursuant to the Social SecurityAct 1975(11) known as invalidity allowance(12), attendance allowance(13), severe disablement allowance(14), mobility allowance(15) and industrial injuries benefit(16); and

(b) disability premium and severe disability premium payable pursuantto the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987(17).

(6) Interest shall accrue on a loan and shall be added to theoutstanding amount thereof during any period of deferment.

Cancellation

12.—(1) A borrower’s liability to make repayments in respect of all loansshall be cancelled if—

(a) he dies; or

(b) he is a person to whom paragraph (2) applies.

(2) This paragraph applies to a borrower who is not in breach of anyobligation in relation to any loan and—

(a) if he was aged less than forty when he last entered into anagreement for a loan, if he attains the age of fifty or if the loan forwhich he last entered into an agreement has been outstanding for notless than twenty five years (whichever event is the sooner); or

(b) if he was aged not less than forty when he last entered into anagreement for a loan, if he attains the age of sixty.

Duties of governing bodies in relation to loans

13.—(1) This regulation prescribes the steps to be taken by the governingbody of each institution at which eligible students are attendingcourses for the purposes of, or in connection with, applications forloans.

(2) The governing body shall as soon as practicable after thecommencement of each academic year—

(a) issue to any student on request an eligibility questionnaireprovided by the loans administrator;

(b) in respect of each eligibility questionnaire completed by a studentand returned to them, take such steps as are reasonably practicable toverify the particulars inserted in the questionnaire by the studentrelating to his eligibility for a loan;

(c) if the student’s eligibility cannot be determined solely byverifying the particulars on the questionnaire, take such other steps asare reasonably practicable for that purpose;

(d) issue to each student in relation to whom they have taken the stepsrequired by sub-paragraphs (a)—(c) and whom they consider tobe eligible an eligibility form provided by the loans adminstrator forcompletion by the student;

(e) certify to the best of their knowledge and belief the accuracy ofthe particulars in each completed eligibility form and the amount ofloan to which they consider the student to be entitled;

(f) issue to each student in relation to whom they have taken all othersteps required by the preceding provisions of this paragraph a loanapplication form provided by the loans administrator; and

(g) send each certified eligibility form to the loans administrator.

(3) The governing body shall—

(a) promptly notify the loans administrator in writing if a person inrespect of whom they have certified eligibility in accordance withparagraph (2) ceases to be an eligible student otherwise than because hehas completed the course;

(b) keep records and copies of all documents except loan applicationforms which they are required by this regulation to issue or certify anda record of any steps taken by them to establish a student'seligibility;

(c) permit the loans administrator or the Secretary of State to inspectthe records and copies at any reasonable time and provide them withreasonable facilities for that purpose;

(d) acknowledge receipt of all eligibility and application formsreceived by them from the loans administrator and provide to it onrequest brief particulars of such forms which they have issued; and

(e) as soon as practicable notify the loans administrator in writing ifthey believe that a person has fraudulently obtained or attempted toobtain a loan and provide the administrator with the name of the person(if known) and particulars of the circumstances of that person'sobtaining or attempting to obtain the loan.

(4) Without prejudice to the generality of sub-paragraphs (b) and (c) ofparagraph (2), the steps to be taken under those sub-paragraphs shallinclude verifying particulars given in the eligibility questionnaire byreference to—

(a) in the case of a person in respect of whom an entry was made in aregister of births kept in pursuance of the Births and DeathsRegistration Act 1953(18) and the Registration Service Act 1953(19), a certified copy of that entry;

(b) in the case of a person in respect of whom an entry was made in theAdopted Children Register kept in pursuance of section 50 of theAdoption Act 1976(20) which contains a record of the date of birth of theperson, a certified copy of that entry;

(c) in the case of a person in respect of whom an entry was made in aregister of births kept in pursuance of the Registration of Births,Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1965(21), an extract of, or an abbreviated certificate of birthrelating to, that entry;

(d) in the case of a person in respect of whom an entry was made in theAdopted Children Register kept in pursuance of Section 45 of theAdoption (Scotland) Act 1978(22) which contains a record of the date of birth of theperson, an extract of that entry; or

(e) in the case of any other person except a refugee, his passport (ifhe holds one), and a letter or other document issued by a responsible personwhich contains particulars of his date, place and country of birth andhis names at birth.

(5) Nothing in this regulation shall require the governing body to takeany steps to establish whether a student falls within sub-paragraph(1)(c), (2)(d) or (2)(e) of regulation 4 (direct credit and debitagreement, breach of loan agreement and minor’s failure to ratify loanagreement), and in considering whether a student is eligible thegoverning body shall disregard those sub-paragraphs.

(6) The governing body shall not be required to take any of the stepsspecified in paragraphs (2) and (4) for the purposes of, or inconnection with, loans in relation to a particular academic year after30th June in the period of 12 months beginning on 1st August in whichthat academic year begins.

(7) In this regulation—

• “eligibility form” means a form requesting particulars from a student relevant to hiseligibility for a loan and of his bank or building society account; and

• “responsible person” means a consular officer, minister of religion, medical or legalpractitioner, established civil servant, teacher or police officer.