Education (Student Support) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999

Overpayments

25.—(1) Any overpayment of grant for fees under Part III shall be recovered by the Department from the academic authority of the institution providing the course to which the grant relates.

(2) Any overpayment of grant to a student for living costs under Part IV in respect of an academic year shall be recovered in one or more of the following ways as the Department considers appropriate in all the circumstances—

(a)by subtracting the overpayment from any other grant for which the student is eligible in respect of the academic year in question, or if necessary from any other grant for which he is eligible in respect of any other academic year;

(b)by subtracting the overpayment from any payment of loan for living costs under Part V which is payable to the student under regulation 24;

(c)by taking such other action for the recovery of a payment without statutory authority as is lawfully available to it.

(3) Any overpayment of a loan to a student for living costs under Part V in respect of any academic year may be recovered if in the opinion of the Department—

(a)the overpayment is a result of a failure of the student to provide promptly information which might affect his eligibility for a loan or the amount of a loan for which he is eligible; or

(b)any information which he has provided is inaccurate in a material particular,

but otherwise it shall be treated as a loan properly made under Part V which shall be repayable in accordance with the Order and Regulations made under it.

(4) Where an overpayment of loan is treated as properly made under paragraph (3) the Department may subtract the overpayment from the amount of loan for which the student is eligible in respect of any other academic year.

(5) Where an overpayment of loan to a student for living costs in respect of an academic year is recoverable in accordance with paragraph (3) it shall be recovered in such one or more of the following ways as the Department considers appropriate in all the circumstances—

(a)by subtracting the overpayment from the amount of loan for which the student is eligible in respect of any other academic year;

(b)by subtracting the overpayment from any grant for which the student is eligible in respect of the academic year in question, or if necessary from any grant for which he is eligible in respect of any other academic year;

(c)by taking such other action for the recovery of a payment made without statutory authority as is available to it.