The Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 “the Repayment Regulations”.

The amendment of the Repayment Regulations:

• introduces fixed instalment rates, which:

  • are used to calculate repayments by overseas borrowers who have not provided required information about their income,

  • replace the fixed instalments set out in regulation 71 (which is omitted)

• makes incidental, supplemental or technical amendments.

Part 1 of the 2009 Regulations (general) is amended as follows:

• regulation 3 (interpretation) is amended to revise the definitions of expressions used in the 2009 Regulations;

Part 2 of the 2009 Regulations (provisions applicable to all repayments) is amended as follows:

• regulation 6 (interpretation) is amended to revise the definitions of expressions used in Part 2;

• regulation 11 (timing of repayments: general) and 16 (interest rate on the loans) are amended for clarification;

Part 3 of the 2009 Regulations (repayments by assessment to income tax) is amended as follows:

• regulation 24 (time for and amount of repayments) is amended to clarify legislative terminology;

• regulations 31 (late payment penalties) and 35 (penalties) are amended to omit spent provisions.

Part 4 of the 2009 Regulations (deduction of repayments by employers) is amended as follows:

• regulations 36 and 45 are amended in consequence of the following amendments to Part 4;

• regulation 36A (real time information employers) is omitted in consequence of regulation 14 of the Income Tax (Pay As You Earn) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/521) (which exempts certain employers from the requirement to be Real Time Information employers on and after 6th October 2013);

• regulation 38 (new employee to declare repayments liability) is amended, and regulation 38A (commencement of employment with a Real Time Information employer) is omitted, in consequence of the replacement of Form P46 with the starter checklist (see https://www.gov.uk/new-employee/employee-information);

• regulation 54 (return by employers) is amended in consequence of paragraph 8(2) of Schedule 12 to the Finance Act 2004 (c. 12);

• regulation 54B (real time returns of information about payments of earnings) is amended to omit spent provisions relating to the 2014-15 and 2015-16 tax years;

• regulations 54E and 54G are amended to omit spent provisions.

Part 5 of the 2009 Regulations (repayment by overseas borrowers) is amended as follows:

• new regulation 66A sets out how to calculate the country-specific multiplier, which is used to determine the amounts of repayments payable by overseas borrowers;— new regulation 66B provides that the examples in the 2009 Regulations (found in new regulations 66A) are only illustrative;

• regulation 69 (repayment by fixed instalments) is amended in consequence of new regulation 69A;

• new regulation 69A sets out how to calculate the fixed instalment rate payable by overseas borrowers;

• regulation 70 is amended due a previous error and in consequence of new regulation 70A;

• new regulation 70A sets out how to calculate the applicable threshold, which is used to determine whether an overseas borrower is required to make repayments in relation to a loan;

• regulation 71 is omitted in consequence of new regulations 69A and 70A.

A regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this rule as no, or no significant impact on the private, voluntary or public sectors is foreseen.