The Social Security Amendment (Students and Income-related Benefits) Regulations 2001

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Council Tax Benefit (General) Regulations 1992 (S.I. 1992/1814), the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987 (S.I. 1987/1971), the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 (S.I. 1987/1967) and the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996 (S.I. 1996/207) in so far as those Regulations apply to students and former students.

In particular they—

• insert a definition of “academic year”, remove the definition of “year” and amend the definitions of “access funds”, “contribution”, “standard maintenance grant” and of “student loan” (regulation 2(1) and (2));

• amend the definitions of “full-time course of study”, “full-time course of advanced education” and “full-time student” (in jobseeker’s allowance) to reflect changes in the funding of such courses in Scotland and to clarify the existing wording (regulation 2(3) and (4));

• increase the amounts of grant and loan income to be disregarded in respect of books and equipment and for travel costs and allow the former to be disregarded even if a student’s grant income includes an amount for books and equipment (regulation 3(1) to (3)), add new exclusions for grants paid to certain students who are lone parents, for child care costs and for certain course-related expenditure (regulation 3(4)) and also increase the amount deducted from rent for calculating eligible rent (regulation 3(5));

• provide rules as to the apportionment of student loans where the academic year starts other than on 1st September (regulation 4);

• provide a formula for calculating the income of a former student who has received a student loan or an amount intended for the maintenance of dependants and who abandons, or is dismissed from, his course before the end of the penultimate term of the academic year (regulation 5);

• ensure that grants paid to students receiving instruction as officers of hospital authorities are taken into account over 12 months and not 10 (regulation 6);

• disregard school meal grants paid in Scotland as income in housing benefit and council tax benefit (regulation 7).

These Regulations do not impose any charge on business.