The Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008

Calculation of grant income N.I.

132.—(1) The amount of student’s grant income to be taken into account, subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), is to be the whole of the student’s grant income.

(2) There is to be disregarded from the amount of a student’s grant income any payment—

(a) intended to meet tuition fees or examination fees;

(b) intended to meet additional expenditure incurred by a disabled student in respect of that student’s attendance on a course;

(c) intended to meet additional expenditure connected with term time residential study away from the student’s educational establishment;

(d) on account of the student maintaining a home at a place other than that at which the student resides while attending the course but only to the extent that the student’s rent or rates are not met by housing benefit;

(e) on account of any other person but only if that person is residing outside of the United Kingdom and there is no applicable amount in respect of that person;

(f) intended to meet the cost of books and equipment;

(g) intended to meet travel expenses incurred as a result of the student’s attendance on the course;

(h) intended for the maintenance of a child dependant;

(i) intended for the child care costs of a child dependant.

(3) Where a student does not have a student loan and is not treated as possessing such a loan, there is to be excluded from the student’s grant income—

(a) the sum of [F1 £295 ]per academic year in respect of travel costs; and

(b) the sum of [F2 £380 ]per academic year towards the costs of books and equipment,

whether or not any such costs are incurred.

(4) Subject to paragraph (6), a student’s grant income, except any amount intended for the maintenance of adult dependants under Part 3 of Schedule 6 to the Students Awards Regulations, is to be apportioned—

(a) subject to paragraph (7), in a case where it is attributable to the period of study, equally between the weeks in the period beginning with the benefit week, the first day of which coincides with, or immediately follows, the first day of the period of study and ending with the benefit week, the last day of which coincides with, or immediately precedes, the last day of the period of study;

(b) in any other case, equally between the weeks in the period beginning with the benefit week, the first day of which coincides with, or immediately follows, the first day of the period for which it is payable and ending with the benefit week, the last day of which coincides with, or immediately precedes, the last day of the period for which it is payable.

(5) Any grant in respect of an adult dependant paid under Article 44(2) of the Health and Personal Social Services Order (provisions relating to training) and any amount intended for the maintenance of an adult dependant under the provisions referred to in paragraph (4) is to be apportioned equally over a period of 52 weeks or, if there are 53 benefit weeks (including part-weeks) in the year, 53 weeks.

(6) In a case where a student is in receipt of a student loan or where that student could have acquired a student loan by taking reasonable steps but had not done so, any amount intended for the maintenance of an adult dependant under provisions other than those referred to in paragraph (4) is to be apportioned over the same period as the student’s loan is apportioned or, as the case may be, would have been apportioned.

(7) In the case of a student on a sandwich course, any period of experience within the period of study is to be excluded and the student’s grant income is to be apportioned equally between the weeks in the period beginning with the benefit week, the first day of which immediately follows the last day of the period of experience and ending with the benefit week, the last day of which coincides with, or immediately precedes, the last day of the period of study.

Textual Amendments

F1 Sum in Reg. 132(3)(a) substituted (27.10.2008) by The Employment and Support Allowance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 (S.R. 2008/413), regs. 1(1), 3(23)(a)

F2 Sum in Reg. 132(3)(b) substituted (27.10.2008) by The Employment and Support Allowance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 (S.R. 2008/413), regs. 1(1), 3(23)(b)

Commencement Information

I1 Reg. 132 in operation at 27.10.2008, see reg. 1(1)