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PART VStudents

CHAPTER IIIncome

Calculation of grant income

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

(2) There shall be excluded from a student’s grant income any payment—

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

(b)intended to meet the cost of special equipment for a student on a course which began before 1st September 1986 in architecture, art and design, home economics, landscape architecture, medicine, music, ophthalmic optics, orthoptics, physical education, physiotherapy, radiography, occupational therapy, dental hygiene, dental therapy, remedial gymnastics, town and country planning and veterinary science or medicine;

(c)in respect of the student’s disability;

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

(e)on account of the student maintaining a home at a place other than that at which he resides during his course;

(f)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 him;

(g)intended to meet the cost of books and equipment (other than special equipment) or, in the case of a full-time student, if not so intended an amount equal to £257 towards such costs;

(h)intended to meet travel expenses incurred as a result of his attendance on the course.

(3) Where in pursuance of an award a student is in receipt of a grant in respect of maintenance under regulation 17(b) of the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations 1991 (payments), there shall be excluded from his grant income a sum equal to the amount specified in paragraph 7(4) of Schedule 2 to those Regulations (disregard of travel costs) being the amount to be disregarded in respect of travel costs in the particular circumstances of his case.

(4) A student’s grant income shall be apportioned—

(a)subject to paragraph (4), in a case where it is attributable to the period of study, equally between the weeks in that period;

(b)in any other case, equally between the weeks in the period in respect of which it is payable.

(5) In the case of a student on a sandwich course, any periods of experience within the period of study shall be excluded and the student’s grant income shall be apportioned equally between the remaining weeks in that period.

Calculation of covenant income where a contribution is assessed

43.—(1) Where a student is in receipt of income by way of a grant during a period of study and a contribution has been assessed, the amount of his convenant income to be taken into account for that period and any summer vacation immediately following shall be the whole amount of the covenant income less, subject to paragraph (3), the amount of the contribution and the amount deducted by way of tax in respect of that income.

(2) The weekly amount of the student’s covenant income shall be determined—

(a)by dividing the amount of income which falls to be taken into account under paragraph (1) by 52 or 53, whichever is reasonable in the circumstances; and

(b)by disregarding from the resulting amount, £5.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (1), the contribution shall be treated as increased by the amount (if any) by which the amount excluded under regulation 42(2)(h) (calculation of grant income) falls short of the amount specified in paragraph 7(4)(i) of Schedule 2 to the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations 1991 (travel expenditure).

Covenant income where no grant income or no contribution is assessed

44.—(1) Where a student is not in receipt of income by way of a grant the amount of his covenant income shall be calculated as follows—

(a)any sums intended for any expenditure specified in regulation 42(2)(a) to (f) (calculation of grant income) necessary as a result of his attendance on the course shall be disregarded;

(b)any covenant income, up to the amount of the standard maintenance grant, which is not so disregarded, shall be apportioned equally between the weeks of the period of study;

(c)there shall be disregarded from the amount so apportioned the amount which would have been disregarded under regulation 42(2)(g) and (h) (calculation of grant income) had the student been in receipt of the standard maintenance grant;

(d)there shall be deducted from any amount in excess of the sums in subparagraphs (a) and (b) the amount deducted by way of tax in respect of the covenanted income; and

(e)the balance, if any, shall be divided by 52 or 53 whichever is reasonable in the circumstances and treated as weekly income of which £5 shall be disregarded.

(2) Where a student is in receipt of income by way of a grant and no contribution has been assessed, the amount of his covenanted income shall be calculated in accordance with sub-paragraphs (a) to (e) of paragraph (1), except that—

(a)the value of the standard maintenance grant shall be abated by the amount of such grant income less an amount equal to the amount of any sums disregarded under regulation 42(2)(a) to (f); and

(b)the amount to be disregarded under paragraph (1)(c) shall be abated by an amount equal to the amount of any sums disregarded under regulation 42(2)(g) and (h) and (3).

Relationship with amounts to be disregarded under Schedule 4

45.  No part of a student’s covenant income or grant income shall be disregarded under paragraph 13 of Schedule 4 and any other income shall be disregarded thereunder to the extent that the amount disregarded under regulation 43(2)(b) (calculation of covenant income where a contribution is assessed) or, as the case may be, 44(1)(e) (covenant income where no grant income or no contribution is assessed) is less than £10.

Other amounts to be disregarded

46.  For the purposes of ascertaining income other than grant income and covenant income, any amounts intended for any expenditure specified in regulation 42(2) (calculation of grant income), necessary as a result of his attendance on the course shall be disregarded but only if, and to the extent that, the necessary expenditure exceeds or is likely to exceed the amount of the sums disregarded under regulation 42(2), 43(3) or 44(1)(a) or (c) (calculation of grant and covenant income) on like expenditure.

Treatment of student loans

47.—(1) A loan which is made to a student pursuant to arrangements made under section 1 of the Education (Student Loans) Act 1990(1) or Article 3 of the Education (Student Loans) (Northern Ireland) Order 1990(2) shall be treated as income.

(2) In calculating the weekly amount of the loan to be taken into account as income—

(a)except where sub-paragraph (b) applies, the loan shall be apportioned equally between the weeks in the academic year in respect of which the loan is payable;

(b)in the case of a loan which is payable in respect of the final academic year of the course or, if the course is only of one academic year’s duration, in respect of that year, the loan shall be apportioned equally between the weeks in the period beginning with the start of the final academic year or, as the case may be, the single academic year and ending with the last day of the course,

and from the weekly amount so apportioned there shall be disregarded £10.

(3) Any loan for which a student is eligible in respect of an academic year under the arrangements mentioned in paragraph (1) but which has not been acquired by him shall be treated as possessed by him and paragraphs (1) and (2) shall apply accordingly; and for the purposes of this paragraph the loan for which a student is eligible is the maximum amount payable to him under those arrangements.

Disregard of contribution

48.  Where the claimant or his partner is a student and the income of one is taken into account for the purposes of assessing a contribution to the student’s grant, an amount equal to the contribution shall be disregarded for the purposes of calculating the income of the one liable to make that contribution.

Income treated as capital

49.  Any amount by way of a refund of tax deducted from a student’s covenant income shall be treated as capital.

Disregard of changes occurring during summer vacation

50.  In calculating a student’s income the appropriate authority shall disregard any change in the standard maintenance grant occurring in the recognised summer vacation appropriate to the student’s course, if that vacation does not form part of his period of study from the date on which the change occurred to the end of that vacation.