The Education (Assisted Places) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2003

Scottish Statutory Instruments

2003 No. 281

EDUCATION

The Education (Assisted Places) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2003

Made

4th June 2003

Laid before the Scottish Parliament

5th June 2003

Coming into force

1st August 2003

The Scottish Ministers, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 75A(9) and (10) and 75B of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980(1) and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, and after having consulted such bodies as appear to the Scottish Ministers to be appropriate and to be representative of participating schools in accordance with section 75A(11) of that Act, hereby make the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Education (Assisted Places) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2003 and shall come into force on 1st August 2003.

Amendment of Education (Assisted Places) (Scotland) Regulations 2001

2.  The Education (Assisted Places) (Scotland) Regulations 2001(2) are amended as follows:–

(a) in regulation 9(3) and (5) (references to income) for the sum of “£1,463” in the three places where it occurs substitute “£1,500”;

(b) in regulation 13(2) (scales of remission) for the sum of “£11,368” substitute “£11,629”;

(c) in regulation 15(6) (school travel grants for day pupils and amounts thereof) for the sums of “£11,385” and “£11,202” substitute “£11,647” and “£11,460” respectively;

(d) in regulation 16(5) (school travel grants for boarding pupils and amounts thereof) for the sums of “£11,385” and “£11,202” substitute “£11,647” and “£11,460” respectively;

(e) for regulation 17(2) substitute–

“(2) A clothing grant shall be made in the case of an assisted pupil as respects whom the relevant income does not exceed £12,508 and shall be of an amount equal to so much of the clothing expenditure (disregarding expenditure in respect of which a previous grant has been paid) as does not exceed–

(a) £77, where the relevant income is £11,629 or less;

(b) £40, where that income exceeds £11,629 but does not exceed £12,508.”;

(f) for regulation 18 (remission of charges for meals) substitute–

“18.— (1) Where the parents of an assisted pupil satisfy the school that at any time during a school year, or the month preceding the beginning of a school year, they are a person specified in paragraph (2) the school shall make such provision for meals in the middle of the day for that pupil as appears to the school to be requisite and shall remit the whole of any charges in respect of such provision–

(a) during the whole of that school year, where it is satisfied as aforesaid at or before the beginning of that year; or

(b) for the remainder of the school year, where it is so satisfied in the course thereof,

notwithstanding that the parents may cease to be a person specified in paragraph (2) between the participating school being so satisfied and the end of the school year in question.

(2) The person referred to in paragraph (1) is a person who is in receipt of–

(i) income support;

(ii) an income-based jobseeker’s allowance (payable under the Jobseekers Act 1995(3)); or

(iii) Child Tax Credit (payable under the Tax Credits Act 2002(4)) in the circumstances set out in paragraph (3).

(3) The circumstances referred to in paragraph (2) (iii) are–

(i) the person is entitled to Child Tax Credit but not to Working Tax Credit (payable under the Tax Credits Act 2002); and

(ii) the person is receiving Child Tax Credit by virtue of an award which is based on an annual income not exceeding the amount determined for the purposes of section 7(1)(a) of the Tax Credits Act 2002 as the income threshold for Child Tax Credit.”; and

(g) for Schedule 2 substitute–

Regulation 13

“SCHEDULE 2 SCALES OF REMISSION

(1)	(2)
Part of relevant income to which the specified percentage applies	Parental contribution percentage
That part (if any) which exceeds £11,460 but does not exceed £12,461	9%
That part (if any) which exceeds £12,461 but does not exceed £13,478	12%
That part (if any) which exceeds £13,478 but does not exceed £15,495	15%
That part (if any) which exceeds £15,495 but does not exceed £18,606	21%
That part (if any) which exceeds £18,606 but does not exceed £22,660	24%
That part (if any) which exceeds £22,660	33%”.

PETER J PEACOCK

A member of the Scottish Executive

St Andrew’s House, Edinburgh

4th June 2003

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Education (Assisted Places) (Scotland) Regulations 2001 to uprate the qualifying income levels for the remission of fees and charges and the making of grants under the assisted places scheme and to add receipt of the Child Tax Credit as one of the qualifying benefits for remission of charges for school meals.

The deduction made from relevant income for dependent children and relatives has been increased from £1,463 to £1,500 (regulation 2(a)).

The level of income at or below which fees are to be wholly remitted is increased from £11,368 to £11,629 with corresponding increases in the extent of remission where the relevant income exceeds that figure (regulation 2(b) and (g)).

The qualifying income levels for school travel grants and clothing grants are also uprated, with clothing grants being increased by either £2 or £1 (regulation 2(c), (d) and (e)).

The circumstances in which receipt of the Child Tax Credit is a qualifying benefit for remission of charges for school meals is that the parent must not be in receipt of the Working Tax Credit and that the award of Child Tax Credit must be based on an annual income not exceeding the amount determined for the purposes of section 7(1)(a) of the Tax Credits Act 2002(5), currently £13,230 (regulation 2(f)).

(1)

1980 c. 44; sections 75A and 75B were inserted by section 5 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1981 (c. 58). Section 75A was amended by the Education (Schools) Act 1997 (c. 59), sections 5 and 6 and the Schedule, and by the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 (c. 31), sections 130 and 140 and Schedule 31. Section 135(1) contains a definition of “prescribed” relevant to the exercise of the statutory powers under which these Regulations are made. The functions of the Secretary of State were transferred to the Scottish Ministers by virtue of section 53 of the Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46).

(2)

S.S.I. 2001/222, as amended by S.S.I. 2002/249.

(3)

1995 c. 18.

(4)

2002 c. 21.

(5)

2002 c. 21.