The Education (Student Support) Regulations 1999

Grants for dependants

15.—(1) Subject to the following paragraphs an eligible student shall in respect of each academic year be eligible for grant for living costs for his dependants as follows:

(a) a grant of £2,075 for only one of the following:

(i) a spouse, or

(ii) an adult dependant whose net income does not exceed £2,980, or

(iii) an only or eldest dependent child whose net income does not exceed £2,075;

(b) for each of his dependent children in respect of whom a grant is not payable under sub-paragraph (a) and whose net income does not exceed the amount of grant applicable to his age by more than £905–

(i) under the age of 11 immediately before the beginning of the academic year, a grant of £435;

(ii) then aged 11 or over, but under 16, a grant of £870;

(iii) then aged 16 or over, but under 18, a grant of £1,150;

(iv) then aged 18 or over, a grant of £1,660;

(2) The aggregate amount of grant under paragraph (1) shall be reduced by so much of the aggregate amount of the net income of the eligible student’s dependants as exceeds £905 multiplied by the number of such dependants.

(3) If the eligible student’s spouse is also an eligible student or holds a statutory award and if in calculating the amount of support for which the spouse is eligible or payment to which he is entitled under the award account is taken of his dependants, the aggregate amount of grant calculated under paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be reduced by one half.

(4) Where the eligible student maintains a dependant who is ordinarily resident outside the United Kingdom the grant under this regulation shall be such amount, if any, not exceeding the aggregate amount of grant calculated under paragraphs (1) to (3) as the Secretary of State considers reasonable in all the circumstances.

(5) Where an eligible student with dependants maintains a home for himself and a dependant at a place other than that at which he resides while attending the course he shall be eligible for a grant of £720.

(6) Where the eligible student is a lone parent he shall in addition to any grant referred to in the preceding paragraphs be eligible for a grant of £1,025.

(7) Where the number of an eligible student’s dependants changes during an academic year the Secretary of State shall determine who the student’s dependants are for each of the three quarters of the academic year in respect of which instalments of grant are paid under regulation 24(2) by reference to the student’s circumstances during the relevant quarter.

(8) Where the Secretary of State has determined who the student’s dependants are for a quarter under paragraph (7) the grant for dependants for the quarter shall be one third of the amount of grant for those dependants for an academic year and the amount of grant for the academic year shall be the aggregate of the three amounts so determined.

(9) Where an eligible student is eligible for a grant for living costs in respect of an academic year under regulation 12(5)(a) he shall only be eligible for a grant under this regulation in respect of such of the three quarters of the year in respect of which instalments of grant are paid under regulation 24(2) as begin after the events referred to in regulation 12(5)(a), and subject to paragraphs (7) and (8) the grant for each such quarter shall be one third of the amount for an academic year and the amount for the academic year shall be the aggregate of the amounts payable in respect of each such quarter.

(10) In this regulation–

• “adult dependant” means, in relation to an eligible student, an adult person dependent on the student not being his child, his spouse (whether ordinarily living with him or not) or a person living with him as his spouse or his former spouse;

• “child” in relation to an eligible student includes a step-child and any child for whom the student has parental responsibility and who is dependent on him;

• “dependant” means, in relation to an eligible student, his spouse, his dependent child or an adult dependant, who in each case is not an eligible student and does not hold a statutory award;

• “dependent” means wholly or mainly financially dependent;

• “spouse” does not include an eligible student’s spouse if they have ceased ordinarily to live together, whether or not an order for their separation has been made by any court, or if the spouse is ordinarily living outside the United Kingdom and is not maintained by him.

(11) For the purposes of this regulation a dependant’s net income shall be his income from all sources for the academic year in question reduced by the amount of income tax and social security contributions payable in respect of it, but disregarding:

(a) any pension, allowance or other benefit paid by reason of a disability to which the dependant is subject which is not subject to income tax under the Income Tax Acts, or, where the income is subject to the tax legislation of another member State, which would not be subject to tax under that legislation if it made provision equivalent to those Acts;

(b) child benefit payable under Part IX of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992(1);

(c) any allowance payable to his spouse by an adoption agency in accordance with regulations made under section 57A of the Adoption Act 1976(2);

(d) any guardian’s allowance to which his spouse is entitled under section 77 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;

(e) in the case of a spouse with whom a child in the care of a local authority is boarded out, any payment made to him in pursuance of section 23 of the Children Act 1989(3);

(f) any payments made to his spouse in pursuance of an order made under section 34 of the Children Act 1975(4) or under section 15 of and Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989 or any assistance given by a local authority pursuant to section 24 of that Act.

(12) Where an eligible student or his spouse make any recurrent payments which were previously made by the student in pursuance of an obligation incurred before the first academic year of the student’s course the spouse’s net income shall be reduced by–

(a) an amount equal to the payments in question for the academic year, if in the opinion of the Secretary of State the obligation had been reasonably incurred; or

(b) such lesser amount if any as the Secretary of State considers appropriate, if in his opinion a lesser obligation could reasonably have been incurred.

(1)

1992 c. 4.

(2)

1976 c. 36; section 57A was introduced by paragraph 25 of Schedule 10 to the Children Act 1989 (c. 41). The relevant instruments are S.I. 1991/2030 and 2742.

(3)

1989 c. 41.

(4)

1975 c. 72; a new section 34 was substituted by section 64 of the Domestic Proceedings and Magistrates' Courts Act 1978 (c. 22); the Act was repealed by the Children Act 1989 (c. 41), section 108(7) and Schedule 15.