The Housing Benefit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006

Full-time students to be treated as not liable to make payments in respect of a dwelling

53.—(1) A full-time student shall be treated as if he were not liable to make payments in respect of a dwelling.

(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a full-time student—

(a) who is a person on income support or an income-based jobseeker’s allowance;

(b) who is a lone parent;

(c) whose applicable amount would, but for paragraph (1), include the pensioner premium for persons under 75 or, as the case may be, persons 75 or over, higher pensioner premium, disability premium or severe disability premium;

(d) whose applicable amount would include the disability premium but for his being treated as capable of work by virtue of a determination made in accordance with regulations made under section 167E of the Act(1) (incapacity for work: disqualification, etc.);

(e) who is, or is treated as, incapable of work and has been so incapable, or has been so treated as incapable, of work in accordance with the provisions of, and regulations made under, Part XIIA of the Act(2) (incapacity for work) for a continuous period of not less than 196 days; and for this purpose any 2 or more separate periods separated by a break of not more than 56 days shall be treated as one continuous period;

(f) who has a partner who is also a full-time student, if he or that partner is treated as responsible for a child or young person;

(g) who is a single claimant with whom a child is—

(i) placed by an authority, as defined in Article 2 of the Children Order, under Article 27(2)(a) of that Order (provision of accommodation and maintenance by an authority for children whom it is looking after) or by a voluntary organisation under Article 75(1)(a) of that Order (provision of accommodation by voluntary organisation), or

(ii) in the charge of, under paragraph 4 of Schedule 2 to the Criminal Justice (Children) (Northern Ireland) Order 1998(3);

(h) who is—

(i) aged under 19 and whose course of study is not a course of higher education, or

(ii) a qualifying young person or child within the meaning of section 138 of the Act(4) (child and qualifying young person);

(i) in respect of whom—

(i) a supplementary requirement has been determined under paragraph 9 of Schedule 6 to the Students Awards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 or a payment has been made under Article 50(3) of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986;

(ii) an allowance or, as the case may be, bursary has been granted which includes a sum under paragraph (1)(d) of regulation 4 of the Students’ Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 1999 or, as the case may be, under paragraph (1)(d) of regulation 4 of the Education Authority Bursaries (Scotland) Regulations 1995(5), in respect of expenses incurred;

(iii) a payment has been made under section 2 of the Education Act 1962(6) or under, or by virtue of regulations made under, the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998;

(iv) a grant has been made under regulation 13 of the Education (Student Support) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 or under regulation 13 of the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2005, or

(v) a supplementary requirement has been determined under paragraph 9 of Schedule 2 to the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations 2003,

on account of his disability by reason of deafness; or

(j) who—

(i) immediately before 1st September 1990 was in receipt of income support by virtue of paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 to the Income Support Regulations as then in operation, or

(ii) on or after that date makes a claim for income support or housing benefit (or both) and at any time during the period of 18 months immediately preceding the date of that claim was in receipt of income support either by virtue of that paragraph or regulation 13(2)(b) of those Regulations,

but this sub-paragraph shall cease to apply where the person has ceased to be in receipt of income support for a continuous period of 18 months or more.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2), once paragraph (2)(e) applies to a full-time student, if he then ceases, for a period of 56 days or less, to be incapable, or to be treated as incapable, of work, that paragraph shall, on his again becoming so incapable, or so treated as incapable, of work at the end of that period, immediately thereafter apply to him for so long as he remains incapable, or is treated as remaining incapable, of work.

(4) In paragraph (2)(h) reference to a course of higher education is a reference to a course of any description mentioned in Schedule 1 to the Further Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1997.

(5) A full-time student to whom paragraph (2)(i) applies shall be treated as satisfying that sub-paragraph from the date on which he made a request for the supplementary requirement, allowance, bursary or payment, as the case may be.

(6) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a full-time student for the period specified in paragraph (7) if—

(a) at any time during an academic year, with the consent of the relevant educational establishment, he ceases to attend or undertake a course because he is—

(i) engaged in caring for another person, or

(ii) ill;

(b) he has subsequently ceased to be engaged in caring for that person or, as the case may be, he has subsequently recovered from that illness; and

(c) he is not eligible for a grant or a student loan in respect of the period specified in paragraph (7).

(7) The period specified for the purposes of paragraph (6) is the period not exceeding one year beginning on the day on which he ceased to be engaged in caring for that other person or, as the case may be, the day on which he recovered from that illness and ending on the day before—

(a) the day on which he resumes attending or undertaking the course; or

(b) the day from which the relevant educational establishment has agreed that he may resume attending or undertaking the course,

whichever shall first occur.

(1)

Section 167E was inserted by Article 8(1) of the Social Security (Incapacity for Work) (Northern Ireland) Order 1994 (S.I. 1994/1898 (N.I. 12)) and amended by paragraph 57 of Schedule 6 to the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 (S.I. 1998/1506 (N.I. 10))

(2)

Part XIIA was inserted by Articles 7 and 8(1) of the Social Security (Incapacity for Work) (Northern Ireland) Order 1994

(3)

S.I. 1998/1504 (N.I. 9)

(4)

Section 138 was substituted by section 2(2) of the Child Benefit Act 2005 (c. 6); see also regulation 2 of S.I. 2006/223

(5)

S.I. 1995/1739 (S. 119)

(6)

1962 c. 12