Grants for dependants- interpretation
26.—(1) In regulations 21 to 25—
(a)“adult dependant” (“dibynnydd mewn oed”) means, in relation to an eligible student, an adult person dependent on the student other than the student’s child, the student’s partner or former partner (including a spouse or civil partner who is not ordinarily living with the student);
(b)“child” (“plentyn”) in relation to an eligible student includes any child of the student’s partner and any child for whom the student has parental responsibility where those children are dependent on the student;
(c)“dependant” (“dibynnydd”) means, in relation to an eligible student, the student’s partner, the student’s dependent child or an adult dependant, who in each case is not an eligible student and does not hold a statutory award;
(d)“dependent” (“dibynnol”) means wholly or mainly financially dependent;
(e)“lone parent” (“rhiant unigol”) means an eligible student who does not have a partner and who has a dependent child or dependent children;
(f)“net income” (“incwm net”) has the meaning given in paragraph (2);
(g)subject to sub-paragraphs (h), (i) and (j), “partner” (“partner”) means any of the following—
(i)the spouse of an eligible student;
(ii)the civil partner of an eligible student;
(iii)a person ordinarily living with an eligible student as if he or she were his or her spouse where an eligible student falls within paragraph 2(a) of Schedule 4 and begins the designated course on or after 1 September 2000;
(iv)a person ordinarily living with an eligible student as if they were the student’s civil partner where an eligible student falls within paragraph 2(a) of Schedule 4 and begins the designated course on or after 1 September 2005;
(h)a person who would otherwise be a partner under sub-paragraph (g) is not treated as a partner if—
(i)in the opinion of the National Assembly, that person and the eligible student have ceased ordinarily to live together; or
(ii)the person is ordinarily living outside the United Kingdom and is not maintained by the eligible student;
(i)for the purposes of sub-paragraph (a), a person is treated as a partner if the person would be a partner under sub-paragraph (g) but for the fact that the eligible student with whom the person is ordinarily living does not fall within paragraph 2(a) of Schedule 4;
(j)for the purposes of sub-paragraphs (b) and (c), a person is treated as a partner if the person would be a partner under sub-paragraph (g) but for the date on which the eligible student began the student’s course or the fact that the eligible student with whom the person is ordinarily living does not fall within paragraph 2(a) of Schedule 4.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), a dependant’s net income is the dependant’s 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 or incapacity to which the dependant is subject;
(b)child benefit payable under Part IX of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992(1);
(c)any financial support payable to the dependant by a local authority in accordance with regulations made under paragraph 3 of Schedule 4 to the Adoption and Children Act 2002(2);
(d)any guardian’s allowance to which the dependant is entitled under section 77 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;
(e)in the case of a dependant with whom a child in the care of a local authority is boarded out, any payment made to that dependant in pursuance of section 23 of the Children Act 1989(3);
(f)any payments made to the dependant under section 15 of and Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989 in respect of a person who is not the dependant’s child or any assistance given by a local authority pursuant to section 24 of that Act; and
(g)any child tax credit to which the dependant is entitled under Part I of the Tax Credits Act 2002.
(3) Where an eligible student or the student’s partner makes 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 partner’s net income is the net income calculated in accordance with paragraph (2) reduced by—
(a)an amount equal to the payments in question for the academic year, if in the opinion of the National Assembly the obligation had been reasonably incurred; or
(b)such lesser amount, if any, as the National Assembly considers appropriate if, in its opinion, a lesser obligation could reasonably have been incurred.
(4) For the purposes of paragraph (2), where the dependent is a dependent child and payments are made to the eligible student towards the child’s maintenance, those payments are to be treated as the child’s income.