The Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996

Calculation of grant income

131.—(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 disregarded from the amount of a student’s grant income any payment—

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

(b) intended to meet additional expenditure incurred by a disabled student in respect of his attendance on a course;

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

(d) on account of the student maintaining a home at a place other than that at which he resides while attending his course but only to the extent that his rent or rates is not met by housing benefit;

(e) on account of any other person but only if that person is residing outside the United Kingdom and there is no applicable amount in respect of him;

(f) intended to meet the cost of books and equipment or if not so intended an amount equal to £278 towards such costs;

(g) 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 12(1)(b) of the Student Awards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995 (payments by boards) there shall be excluded from his grant income a sum equal to the amount from time to time specified in paragraph 7(4) of Schedule 7 to those regulations, being the amount to be disregarded in respect of travel costs in the particular circumstances of his case.

(4) A student’s grant income except any amount intended for the maintenance of dependants under Part 3 of Schedule 7 to the Students Awards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995 or otherwise, or intended for an older student under Part 4 of that Schedule, shall be apportioned—

(a) subject to paragraph (6), 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) Any amount intended for the maintenance of dependants or for an older student under the provisions referred to in paragraph (4) shall be apportioned equally over a period of 52 weeks or, if there are 53 benefit weeks (including part-weeks) in the year, 53 weeks.

(6) 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.