The Education (Student Support) Regulations 2000 (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2000

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations, which come into force on 21st November 2000, further amend the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2000 (“the Student Support Regulations”).

Following amendment of section 22 of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 by the Learning and Skills Act 2000, the Regulations provide for support for students undertaking part-time designated courses whether they attend the course or whether they pursue the course through open learning. Part VIII of the Student Support Regulations and the definition of “eligible part-time student” are amended accordingly (regulation 3(1)(a) and regulations 8 to 14).

Consequential amendments are made at regulations 3 to 5 as the provisions amended apply in respect of support for both designated courses and designated part-time courses.

Students must still attend designated courses (which are full-time courses, sandwich courses or part-time courses for the initial training of teachers designated under regulation 5 of the Student Support Regulations) in order to be eligible for full-time support. No change is made to the Student Support Regulations in this respect.

The Regulations also amend the Student Support Regulations in other respects. Regulation 16 of the Student Support Regulations is amended so that a grant may be paid in respect of a dependent child who attends a city academy (regulation 6).

Regulations 27(2)(c) and 29(2) of the Student Support Regulations are amended so that the exclusion from eligibility of a part-time student who has been paid 6 loans in connection with his undertaking one or more designated part-time courses applies only in respect of his eligibility for a loan, not for grants for living costs in respect of a disability to which he is subject (regulations 8(2)(b) and 9(2)).

Regulations 29(1) and 32 of the Student Support Regulations are amended to include an additional eligibility criterion in respect of support (loans and grants for disabled part-time students' living costs) for students undertaking designated part-time courses (regulations 9(1)(b) and 11(c)). Eligible part-time students must be ordinarily resident in England and Wales on the first day of each academic year (not just at the start of the course).

Regulations 29 and 32 of the Student Support Regulations are also amended to exclude prisoners serving custodial sentences from eligibility for loans and grants for disabled part-time students' living costs, except in respect of an academic year in which they enter prison to serve such a sentence or are released from prison having served such a sentence (regulations 9(3) and 11(c)).

Regulation 9(4) amends the definitions of “child”, “dependent” and “spouse” at regulation 29(8) of the Student Support Regulations.

Regulation 34(6)(d) and (7) of the Student Support Regulations is amended so that where the student has already made an application for a loan after his eligibility has been converted from that of an eligible student under Part II of the Student Support Regulations, he may apply further for the maximum amount of loan or increased maximum to which he was entitled under regulation 20 of the Student Support Regulations (regulation 13(3)(b) and (4)).

Paragraph 1(1)(d) of Schedule 3 to the Student Support Regulations is amended to extend the disregard of grants to students to facilitate teacher training, in calculating their income, to payments in respect of such training by institutions which receive funding under section 65(3) of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 (regulation 15).