The Education (Student Support) Regulations 2008

CHAPTER 2 PAYMENT OF GRANTS FOR LIVING AND OTHER COSTS

Payment of grants for living and other costs

104.—(1) The Secretary of State may pay support under Part 5 in instalments.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), the Secretary of State may pay support under Part 5 at such times as he considers appropriate.

(3) An academic authority is required to send an attendance confirmation to the Secretary of State.

(4) The Secretary of State must not pay the first instalment or, where it has been determined not to pay support under Part 5 by instalments, make any payment of support under that Part to the eligible student before he has received the attendance confirmation unless an exception applies.

(5) An exception applies if—

(a) a disabled students’ allowance is payable in which case that particular grant may be paid before the Secretary of State has received an attendance confirmation; or

(b) the Secretary of State has determined that owing to exceptional circumstances it would be appropriate to make a payment without receiving an attendance confirmation.

(6) Payments of support under Part 5 are to be made in such manner as the Secretary of State considers appropriate and he may make it a condition of entitlement to payment that the eligible student must provide him with particulars of a bank or building society account in the United Kingdom into which payments may be made by electronic transfer.

(7) Where a final assessment cannot be made on the basis of the information provided by the student, the Secretary of State may make a provisional assessment and payment of support under Part 5.

(8) No support under Part 5 in respect of the current course is due in respect of any payment period beginning after an eligible student’s period of eligibility terminates.

(9) Where an eligible student’s period of eligibility terminates on or after the relevant date, the Secretary of State must determine—

(a) the amount of each grant for living and other costs for which the student qualifies that would be payable in respect of the relevant payment period if the eligible student’s period of eligibility had not terminated (the “full amount”); and

(b) how much of the full amount is due in respect of the period which runs from the first day of the relevant payment period up to and including the day on which the eligible student’s period of eligibility terminated (the “partial amount”).

(10) In this regulation, the “relevant date” is the date on which the first term of the academic year in question actually begins.

(11) If the Secretary of State has made a payment of grant for living and other costs in respect of the relevant payment period before the point in that period at which the eligible student’s period of eligibility terminated and that payment exceeds the partial amount of that grant—

(a) he may treat the excess as an overpayment of that grant; or

(b) if he considers that it is appropriate to do so he may extend the student’s period of eligibility in respect of that grant until the end of the relevant payment period and determine that the full amount of that grant is due in respect of that payment period.

(12) Subject to paragraph (13), if a payment of a grant for living and other costs in respect of the relevant payment period is due to be made or is made after the eligible student’s period of eligibility has terminated, the amount of that grant due is the partial amount unless the Secretary of State considers it appropriate to extend the period of eligibility in respect of that grant until the end of the relevant payment period and to determine that the full amount of that grant is due in respect of that payment period.

(13) Paragraph (12) does not apply to a payment of the disabled students’ allowance in respect of specialist equipment.

(14) No support under Part 5 is due in respect of a payment period during any part of which an eligible student is absent from his course, unless in the opinion of the Secretary of State it would be appropriate in all the circumstances for support to be paid in respect of the period of absence.

(15) In deciding whether it would be appropriate for support to be due under paragraph (14) the circumstances to which the Secretary of State must have regard include the reasons for the student’s absence, the length of the absence and the financial hardship which not paying the support would cause.

(16) An eligible student is not to be considered absent from his course if he is unable to attend due to illness and his absence has not exceeded 60 days.

(17) Where, after the Secretary of State has made any payment of support under Part 5 or Part 6, he makes a determination of the amount of a grant for living and other costs for which the student qualifies either for the first time or by way of revision of a provisional or other determination of that amount—

(a) if the determination increases the amount of that grant for which the student qualifies he must pay the additional amount in such instalments (if any) and at such times as he considers appropriate;

(b) if the determination decreases the amount of that grant for which the student qualifies he must subtract the amount of the decrease from the amount of that grant which remains to be paid;

(c) if the amount of the decrease is greater than the amount of that grant remaining to be paid the latter amount is reduced to nil and the balance subtracted from any other grant for living and other costs for which the student qualifies in respect of the academic year;

(d) any remaining overpayment is recoverable in accordance with Chapter 4 of this Part.