Grants for dependants- childcare grant
23.—(1) An eligible student qualifies, in connection with his or her attendance on a designated course, for a grant in respect of childcare costs for each dependent child in accordance with this regulation.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), an eligible student qualifies for a childcare grant in respect of an academic year where childcare is provided by an approved or registered childcare provider if—
(a)the child is under the age of 15 immediately before the beginning of the academic year; or
(b)the child has special educational needs within the meaning of section 312 of the Education Act 1996(1) and is under the age of 17 immediately before the beginning of the academic year.
(3) An eligible student does not qualify for a grant under this regulation if the student or the student’s partner has elected to receive the childcare element of the working tax credit under Part I of the Tax Credits Act 2002(2).
(4) Subject to paragraph (5), the basic amount of childcare grant for each week is—
(a)for one dependent child, 85 per cent. of the costs of the childcare, subject to a maximum amount of £175 per week; or
(b)for two or more dependent children, 85 per cent. of the costs of the childcare, subject to a maximum amount of £300 per week,
except that the student does not qualify for any such grant in respect of each week falling within the period between the end of the course and the end of the academic year in which the course ends.
(5) For the purposes of calculating the basic amount of childcare grant—
(a)a week runs from Monday to Sunday; and
(b)where a week in respect of which childcare costs are incurred falls partly within and partly outside the academic year in respect of which childcare grant is payable under this regulation, the maximum weekly amount of grant is calculated by multiplying the relevant maximum weekly amount in paragraph (4) by the proportion which the number of days of that week falling within the academic year bears to the number of days in a week.
(6) The amount of childcare grant calculated under regulation 25 is reduced by one half where—
(a)the eligible student’s partner—
(i)is an eligible student; or
(ii)holds a statutory award; and
(b)account is taken of that partner’s dependants in calculating the amount of support for which that partner qualifies or the payment to which he or she is entitled under the statutory award.
(7) In this regulation—
(a)“approved childcare provider” (“darparydd gofal plant wedi'i gymeradwyo”) means a childcare provider within the meaning of the Tax Credit (New Category of Child Care Provider) Regulations 1999(3) who has been approved in accordance with those Regulations; and
(b)“registered childcare provider” (“darparydd gofal plant wedi'i gofrestru”) means a person who acts as a child minder or provides day care and is registered within the meaning of section 79F of the Children Act 1989(4) (grant or refusal of registration of child minders and persons providing day care for young children).
1996 c. 56; section 312 was amended by the Education Act 1997 (c. 44), Schedule 7, paragraph 23, the Schools Standards and Framework Act 1998 (c. 31), section 140, Schedule 30, paragraph 71 and Schedule 31 and the Learning and Skills Act 2000 (c. 21), Schedule 9, paragraph 56.
1989 c. 41; section 79F was inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 (c. 14).