Education (Student Support) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003

Hardship loans

22.—(1) An eligible student who has applied for the maximum amount of loan in respect of an academic year which has been notified to him and received at least one instalment of that loan may apply to the Department for a determination in accordance with paragraph (4) that he is eligible for an additional loan, which shall be known as a “hardship loan”.

(2) A hardship loan shall be £100 or a multiple thereof not exceeding £500.

(3) An eligible student shall demonstrate his eligibility for a hardship loan by providing such evidence of his requirements and resources as the Department may require.

(4) On being satisfied that an eligible student is in serious financial difficulty such that his access to a course or his continued attendance on a course may be at risk, the Department shall determine the amount of hardship loan which it considers the student requires, and the student shall be eligible for a hardship loan of that amount.

(5) An eligible student who is eligible for a hardship loan shall apply for a loan not greater than the amount determined in accordance with paragraph (4) by completing and submitting to the Department an application in such form as it may require not later than one month after the date he receives notice of the determination under paragraph (4) and one month before the end of the academic year.

(6) The student shall sign a declaration on the application form in the terms set out in regulation 21(3).

(7) Where the amount of the hardship loan is determined to be less than £500 under paragraph (4), the student may make one further application for a hardship loan in accordance with the requirements of this regulation, except that the amount of the hardship loan under the second determination when added to the amount under the first determination shall not exceed £500.