The Students' Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 1999

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Students' Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 1999 and shall come into force on 4th May 1999.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires–

“allowance” means an allowance paid or to be paid under these Regulations;

“EEA Agreement” means the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2nd May 1992(1) as adjusted by the Protocol thereto signed at Brussels on 17th March 1993(2);

“EEA migrant worker” means a person who is a national of an EEA State who has taken up an activity as an employed person in the United Kingdom–

“EEA State” means a State which is a Contracting Party to the EEA Agreement;

“employed” includes holding any office or any occupation for gain;

“European Economic Area” means the area of the EEA States and includes those States at any time before the EEA Agreement comes into force in relation to them;

“national of a member state of the European Community” means a person who is a national for the purposes of the Community Treaties of any member state of the European Community (including the United Kingdom) as constituted from time to time;

"parent" includes a step-parent, a guardian, any other person having parental responsibility for a child and any person having care of a child, and "child" shall be construed accordingly;

"refugee" means a person who is recognised by Her Majesty's Government as a refugee within the meaning of the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees done at Geneva on 28th July 1951(4) as extended by the Protocol thereto which entered into force on 4th October 1967(5) ;

"relevant day" in relation to a course of education for which an allowance is sought means the first day of the first academic year of the course.

(2) In these Regulations, except where the context otherwise requires, any reference–

(a)to a numbered regulation or Schedule is a reference to the regulation or Schedule so numbered in these Regulations; and

(b)in a regulation or Schedule to a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph so numbered in that regulation or Schedule, as the case may be.

Persons eligible for allowances

3.—(1) The Secretary of State may pay an allowance, in accordance with the provisions of section 73(f) of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 and these Regulations, to or in respect of any person attending a course of education who is a person described in one or more paragraphs of Schedule 1.

(2) Schedule 2 shall have effect as regards determining whether a person is to be treated, for the purposes of Schedule 1, as being, or having been, ordinarily resident in a place at, or for, a particular time.

Amount of allowances

4.—(1) The amount of an allowance shall be determined by the Secretary of State and, subject to paragraph (2), may include sums in respect of–

(a)tuition and other fees payable in respect of the holder of the allowance;

(b)travelling expenses necessarily incurred, or to be incurred, by the holder in attending the course of education in respect of which the allowance is awarded;

(c)the maintenance of the holder and of any persons dependent on him during periods of full time study and during vacations;

(d)other expenses incurred, or to be incurred, by the holder in taking advantage of educational facilities.

(2) An allowance payable to, or in respect of, a person who is eligible for an allowance only by virtue of paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 may include sums only in respect of tuition and other fees payable in respect of that person.

(3) In determining the amount of an allowance, the Secretary of State shall take account of the sums, if any, which, in accordance with principles determined by him from time to time, the holder, the holder’s parents and the holder’s spouse can reasonably be expected to contribute towards the holder’s expenses.

(4) The amount of the determination of an allowance may be revised at any time if the Secretary of State thinks fit having regard to–

(a)the failure of the holder to comply with the requirements of the allowance;

(b)all the circumstances of the holder or his parents or both as the case may be; or

(c)any error made in determining the amount of, or entitlement to, the allowance.

Conditions and requirements of allowances

5.—(1) The following shall be conditions of payment of every allowance for each academic year–

(a)an application in writing shall be received by the Secretary of State by such date as he may determine in respect of that year, and different dates may be determined by him in respect of different courses; and

(b)that application shall include an undertaking by the applicant to repay to the Secretary of State any amount of which the Secretary of State requests repayment following a revisal in terms of regulation 4(4).

(2) The Secretary of State may treat an application received after any date determined for the purposes of paragraph (1)(a) as having been received by that date where he considers that, having regard to the circumstances of the particular case, it should be so treated.

(3) Every allowance shall be held subject to the following requirements–

(a)the holder shall attend regularly the course of education in respect of which the allowance is awarded;

(b)the Secretary of State shall be satisfied as to the conduct and progress of the holder;

(c)the holder shall provide the Secretary of State with such information and such documents as he may from time to time require to enable him to exercise his functions under these Regulations; and

(d)the holder shall repay to the Secretary of State any sum in respect of which he has given an undertaking in terms of paragraph (1)(b) and which falls to be repaid following a revisal in terms of regulation 4(4).

Method of payment

6.—(1) The allowance may be paid to the holder or to another person for his behoof, or in part to the holder and in part to the said other person, and any sum in respect of fees payable to an educational institution which is included in the amount of the allowance may be paid on behalf of the holder to the institution.

(2) The allowance may be paid in a single payment or by instalments as the Secretary of State thinks fit, but no payment shall be made before the holder has been accepted for admission to the course of education in respect of which the allowance is awarded.

Revocations and savings

7.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), the Students' Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 1996(6) are hereby revoked.

(2) The Regulations revoked by paragraph (1) shall continue to apply in all respects as regards allowances awarded under those Regulations.

(3) The provisions of paragraph (2) are without prejudice to the general operation of sections 16 and 17 of the Interpretation Act 1978(7).