PART 5GRANTS FOR LIVING COSTS

Grants for dependants – interpretation21.

(1)

In regulations 16 to 20—

(a)

“adult dependant” means, in relation to an eligible student, an adult person dependent on the student other than his child, his partner or his former partner (including a spouse or civil partner who is not ordinarily living with the student);

(b)

“child” in relation to an eligible student includes any child of his partner and any child for whom he has parental responsibility where those children are dependent on him;

(c)

“dependant” means, in relation to an eligible student, his partner, his dependent child or an adult dependant, who in each case is not an eligible student and does not hold a statutory award;

(d)

“dependent” means wholly or mainly financially dependent;

(e)

“lone parent” means an eligible student who does not have a partner and who has a dependent child or dependent children;

(f)

“net income” has the meaning given in paragraph (2);

(g)

subject to sub-paragraphs (h), (i) and (j), “partner” means any of the following—

(i)

the spouse of an eligible student;

(ii)

the civil partner of an eligible student;

(iii)

a woman ordinarily living with a male eligible student as if she were his wife where an eligible student falls within paragraph 2(a) of Schedule 5 and begins the designated course on or after 1st September 2000;

(iv)

a man ordinarily living with a female eligible student as if he were her husband where an eligible student falls within paragraph 2(a) of Schedule 5 and begins the designated course on or after 1st September 2000;

(v)

a person ordinarily living with an eligible student as if he were his civil partner where an eligible student falls within paragraph 2(a) of Schedule 5 and begins the designated course on or after 1st September 2005;

(h)

a person who would otherwise be a partner under sub-paragraph (g) shall not be treated as a partner if—

(i)

in the opinion of the Secretary of State, 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 shall be treated as a partner if he would be a partner under sub-paragraph (g) but for the fact that the eligible student with whom he is ordinarily living does not fall within paragraph 2(a) of Schedule 5;

(j)

for the purposes of sub-paragraphs (b) and (e), a person shall be treated as a partner if he would be a partner under sub-paragraph (g) but for the date on which the eligible student began his course or the fact that the eligible student with whom he is ordinarily living does not fall within paragraph 2(a) of Schedule 5.

(2)

Subject to paragraph (3), a dependant’s net income is his 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 199248;

(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 200249;

(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 198950;

(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 his 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 Secretary of State the obligation had been reasonably incurred; or

(b)

such lesser amount, if any, as the Secretary of State considers appropriate if, in her opinion, a lesser obligation could reasonably have been incurred.