The Education (Student Loans) (Scotland) Regulations 1998

PART II ELIGIBILITY

Eligible student

3.—(1) A student shall be an eligible student in relation to an academic year of a course for the purposes of these Regulations if–

(a) he is a person mentioned in Schedule 1;

(b) he is attending a designated course;

(c) he is under the age of 50 years on the first day of the course;

(d) he is not eligible to receive a loan in relation to the academic year of the course under the 1990 Act or the Education (Student Loans) (Northern Ireland) Order 1990;

(e) he has not received a loan in relation to the academic year of another course which year ended after the first day of the academic year in question;

(f) he is not eligible to receive in relation to the academic year–

(i) any payment under a bursary or award of similar description bestowed on him under section 63 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968(1) the amount of which is not calculated by reference to his income; or

(ii) any allowance under the Nursing and Midwifery Student Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 1992(2);

(g) he is not in breach of any obligation to repay any loan;

(h) subject to paragraph (4), he has ratified any agreement for a loan made with him when he was under the age of 18; and

(i) he has a bank or building society account into which any amount lent to him may be paid by electronic transfer.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(c) and Schedule 1 if, with the agreement of the institution or institutions in question, a student withdraws from a designated course without completing it and, disregarding any intervening vacation, immediately commences attending another designated course provided by the same or by a different institution, the first day of the first course shall be regarded as the first day of the second course, or as the first day of a third or further course which the student has commenced attending in the same fashion.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(e), (g) and (h) “loan” includes a loan made under the 1980 Act, the 1990 Act, the Education (Student Loans) (Northern Ireland) Order 1990, the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998, or the Education (Student Support) (Northern Ireland) Order 1998.

(4) Paragraph (1)(h) shall only apply, in a case where the agreement for a loan is subject to the law of Scotland, if it was made–

(a) before 25 September 1991, and

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

Designated courses

4.—(1) A course shall be designated for the purposes of regulation 3(1)(b) if it is–

(a) mentioned in Schedule 2;

(b) a full-time course within the meaning of paragraph (2);

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

(d) wholly provided by an educational institution or institutions in the United Kingdom maintained or assisted by recurrent grants out of public funds or is provided by such an institution or institutions in conjunction with an institution or institutions outside the United Kingdom.

(2) A full-time course is a sandwich course or a course–

(a) which persons undertaking it are normally required by the institution providing it to attend (whether at premises of the institution or elsewhere)–

(i) in the case of a course of one academic year’s duration, for a period 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 except the 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 would normally require to undertake periods of study, tuition or work experience which together amount in each academic year to an average of at least 21 hours a week as respect the periods of attendance mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) above for the year.

(3) For the purposes of these Regulations, 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.

(4) For the purposes of regulation 3(1) the Secretary of State may designate courses of higher education which do not meet the qualifications set out in paragraph (1).

Certificate of eligibility

5.—(1) A student shall demonstrate his eligibility by completing an eligibility questionnaire and by providing such supporting evidence of eligibility as the Secretary of State may require.

(2) Without restricting the generality of paragraph (1) a student shall produce–

(a) if he was born in the United Kingdom, a certificate issued by the appropriate authority showing the date of his birth;

(b) if he was born outside the United Kingdom, a valid passport, unless he is a refugee or does not hold one, and in any event a letter or other document issued by a responsible person which contains particulars of his date, place and country of birth and his full name at birth;

(c) a United Kingdom national insurance card, or some other document issued or sent to the student by a government department or agency or by an employer which refers to his national insurance number, unless he does not have such a number;

(d) evidence of the student’s bank or building society sort code and account number; and

(e) evidence from his institution that he has commenced attending a designated course and of the duration of that course.

(3) The Secretary of State may take such steps and make such inquiries as he considers necessary to determine whether the student is an eligible student.

(4) If the Secretary of State considers that a student is an eligible student he shall issue to the student an eligibility form for the student to complete.

(5) An eligibility form shall include the following particulars:–

(a) the full name of the student, and his or her sex;

(b) the student’s United Kingdom national insurance number, unless he does not have one;

(c) the student’s most recent student loan account number, if any;

(d) if the student’s full name at birth was different from the above name, his full name at birth;

(e) the country in which the student was born;

(f) if the student was born in the United Kingdom, the district or subdistrict where his birth certificate was issued;

(g) the student’s date of birth;

(h) the student’s home and term-time address and telephone number, and an indication to which address correspondence should be sent;

(i) whether the student was on the first day of the course ordinarily resident for the purpose of these Regulations in England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland;

(j) the student’s bank or building society sort code and account number;

(k) the student’s age on the first day of the course;

(l) the date on which the student started, and the date on which he expects to complete, his course;

(m) whether the course is–

(i) for a Postgraduate Certificate of Education or Art Teacher’s Certificate;

(ii) an accelerated course; or

(iii) another designated course;

(n) the name of the institution which provides the designated course, and if any part of the course is provided by an institution other than that institution an indication to that effect;

(o) the number of academic years of the course and whether the student is in the first, second, third or other of those years on the date the certificate is signed.

(6) The student shall sign a declaration on the eligibility form that–

(a) the particulars given in the eligibility form are correct to the best of his knowledge and belief; and

(b) he will notify the Secretary of State of any change in them.

(7) If the Secretary of State is satisfied that the particulars in the eligibility form are correct and that the student is an eligible student he shall certify those matters to the best of his knowledge and belief and also certify the amount of loan for maintenance to which he considers the student is entitled (a “certificate of eligibility”).

(8) The Secretary of State shall issue to each student whose eligibility he has certified an application form which identifies the particular certificate of eligibility.

(1)

1968 c. 46; section 63 was amended by the National Health Services Reorganisation Act 1973 (c. 32), Schedule 4, paragraph 124 and Schedule 5, the National Health Service Act 1977 (c. 49), Schedule 15, paragraph 45 and Schedule 16, the National Health Services (Scotland) Act 1978 (c. 29), Schedule 16, paragraph 26(2) and Schedule 17, the Health Services Act 1980 (c. 53), sections 1, 2 and Schedule 1, Part I, paragraph 19(3), the Local Government Act 1985 (c. 51), Schedule 17, the Family Practitioner Committees (Consequential Modifications) Order 1985 (S.I. 1985/39), article 6(1), the Health and Medicines Act 1988 (c. 49), section 20, section 25(2) and Schedule 3, the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39), section 180(1) and Schedule 13, paragraph 74(1) and (2), the Health Authorities Act 1995 (c. 17), Schedule 1, paragraph 95(1) and (2), the Local Government Reorganisation (Wales) (Consequential Amendments) (No.2) Order 1996 (S.I. 1996/1008), the Schedule, paragraph 1 and the National Health Service (Primary Care) Act 1997 (c. 46), Schedule 2, paragraph 1(4).

(2)

S.I. 1992/580.