Education (Teacher Student Loans) (Repayment etc.) Regulations 2003

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations provide for the reduction and repayment of amounts owing in respect of student loans. A person is eligible for these benefits where he is in eligible employment, is a newly qualified teacher and has an outstanding loan (regulation 3).

Regulation 4 defines eligible employment as employment under a contract of service as a teacher at a school or institution providing further education to teach one or more shortage subjects or, in relation to a teacher at a primary school, as a primary specialist. The employment must commence on or after 1st July 2002 and before 1st July 2005. It also sets out the circumstances in which eligible employment status can be lost.

Regulation 5 provides that a person must not have qualified as a teacher more than 7 months before taking up eligible employment, or where teaching further education must not be attending a course to obtain a teaching qualification, in order to be eligible. Where a woman has given birth to a child in the 7 month period following qualification as a teacher then she must have qualified within 19 months before taking up eligible employment in order to be eligible.

Regulation 6 prescribes two circumstances where a person may take breaks from eligible employment but still remain eligible if he recommences such employment. A person may take breaks totalling up to 36 months for any reason (but no single break may exceed 12 months) and may take breaks totalling up to 60 months in order to care for a child.

Regulation 7 describes the loans in respect of which reduction or repayment is applicable: loans made pursuant to section 1 of the Education (Student Loans) Act 1990 (c. 6); the Education (Student Loans) (Northern Ireland) Order 1990 (No.1506 (N.I.11)); section 22 of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 (c. 30); section 73 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 (c. 44); and the Education (Student Support) (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 (No.1760 (N.I.14)).

Regulations 8, 9 and 10 provide for the provision of information to the Secretary of State by persons applying for a repayment or reduction, the employers of such persons and the General Teaching Councils for England and Wales.

Regulation 11 defines the relevant amount eligible for repayment or reduction. Regulation 12 defines the relevant term as 10 years except in relation to loans made pursuant to the Education (Student Loans) Act 1990 and the Education (Student Loans) (Northern Ireland) Order 1990 where the relevant term is 5 years for persons with less than 5 such loans or 7 years with 5 or more. Regulation 13 provides that the relevant amount shall be repaid or reduced over the relevant term and that such repayments and reductions must be in accordance with the proportion of the working week a person is employed to work and only in respect of periods during the relevant term that a person is in eligible employment. Regulation 13(4) provides limits on how much may be repaid or reduced.

Regulation 14 provides that the Secretary of State may request reimbursement of repayments or increase the amounts owing in respect of loans where any information or assumption on which a reduction or repayment has been made is incorrect.