The Education (Student Support) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009

Payment of loans for living costs and additional amount of loan for living costs

104.—(1) The Department may pay support under Part 6 in instalments.

(2) Subject to paragraph (4), the Department may pay support under Part 6 at such times as the Department considers appropriate.

(3) An academic authority is required to send an attendance confirmation to the Department.

(4) The Department must not pay the first instalment, or where it has been determined not to pay support under Part 6 by instalments, make any payment of support under Part 6 to the eligible student before the Department has received an attendance confirmation from the relevant academic authority unless an exception applies.

(5) An exception applies if the Department has determined that owing to exceptional circumstances it would be appropriate to make a payment without receiving an attendance confirmation.

(6) Where a final assessment cannot be made on the basis of the information provided by the student, the Department may make a provisional assessment and payment of support under Part 6.

(7) Payments of support under Part 6 are to be made in such manner as the Department considers appropriate and the Department may make it a condition of entitlement to payment that the eligible student must provide the Department with particulars of a bank or building society account in the United Kingdom into which payments may be made by electronic transfer.

(8) Where the Department has made any payment of support under Part 5 or under Part 6 and a student who qualifies for a loan for living costs or a additional amount of loan for living costs under Part 6 applies for either loan or applies for an additional amount of either loan in respect of an academic year, the Department may pay that loan (or loans, as the case may be) or that additional amount of loan (or loans, as the case may be) in such instalments (if any) and at such times as the Department considers appropriate as soon as is reasonably practicable after a satisfactory application has been received.

(9) Subject to paragraph (10), no support under Part 6 is due in respect of any day of an academic year on which the eligible student is a prisoner, unless in the opinion of the Department it would be appropriate in all the circumstances for support to be paid in respect of that day.

(10) In deciding whether it would be appropriate for support to be due under paragraph (9) the circumstances to which the Department must have regard include the financial hardship which not paying the support would cause and whether not paying the support would affect the student’s ability to continue the course.

(11) No support under Part 6 in respect of the current course is due in respect of any payment period beginning after an eligible student’s period of eligibility terminates.

(12) No support under Part 6 is due in respect of a payment period during part of which an eligible student is absent from the course, unless in the opinion of the Department it would be appropriate in all the circumstances for support to be paid in respect of the period of absence.

(13) In deciding whether it would be appropriate for support to be due under paragraph (12) the circumstances to which the Department must have regard include the reasons for the student’s absence, the length of the absence and the financial hardship which not paying the support would cause.

(14) An eligible student is not to be considered absent from the student’s course if the student is unable to attend due to illness and the student’s absence has not exceeded 60 days.

(15) Where, after the Department has made any payment of support under Part 6 for which a student qualifies in respect of an academic year, the Department makes a determination that the amount of loan for living costs or additional amount of loan for living costs for which the student qualifies is less than the amount previously determined either by way of a revision of a provisional assessment or otherwise—

(a) the Department must subtract from any amount of the loan in question which remains to be paid such amount as is necessary to ensure that the student does not borrow an amount of the loan in question which is greater than that for which the student qualifies;

(b) if the amount to be subtracted is greater than the amount of the loan in question remaining to be paid, the amount of that loan remaining to be paid is reduced to nil;

(c) any remaining overpayment is recoverable in accordance with Chapter 5 of this Part.