The Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Regulations 2021

Persons not entitled to council tax reduction: students S

20.—(1) Except to the extent that a student may be entitled to second adult rebate by virtue of regulation 13 (conditions of entitlement to council tax reduction), a student to whom paragraph (2) applies is not entitled to council tax reduction in respect of a day and a dwelling of which that student is resident.

(2) This paragraph applies—

(a) subject to paragraphs (3) and (7), to a full-time student, and

(b) to a student who is treated as not being in Great Britain in accordance with regulation 16 (persons not entitled to council tax reduction: persons treated as not being in Great Britain).

(3) Paragraph (2)(a) does not apply to a student—

(a) who is a person on a qualifying income-related benefit or who has an award of universal credit,

(b) who is a lone parent,

(c) whose applicable amount would, but for this regulation, include disability premium under paragraph 11 of schedule 1 or severe disability premium under paragraph 13 of that schedule,

(d) whose applicable amount would include the disability premium but for the student being treated as capable of work by virtue of a determination made in accordance with Regulations made under section 171E of the 1992 Act(1),

(e) who is, or is treated as, incapable of work and has been so incapable, or has been so treated as incapable, of work in accordance with the provisions of, and Regulations made under, Part 12A of the 1992 Act (incapacity for work) for a continuous period of not less than 196 days, and for this purpose any two or more separate periods separated by a break of not more than 56 days is to be treated as one continuous period,

(f) who has, or is treated as having, limited capability for work and has had, or been treated as having, limited capability for work in accordance with the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations [F1 or the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2013] for a continuous period of not less than 196 days, and for this purpose any two or more separate periods separated by a break of not more than 84 days are to be treated as one continuous period,

(g) who has a partner who is also a full-time student, if the student or that partner is responsible for a child or young person,

(h) who is a single applicant with whom a child is placed by a local authority or voluntary organisation within the meaning of the Children Act 1989(2) [F2 under section 26(1)(a) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 or in respect of whom arrangements have been made by a local authority under section 26(1)(c) of that Act],

(i) who is—

(i) aged under 21 and whose course of study is not a course of higher education,

(ii) aged 21 and attained that age during a course of study which is not a course of higher education, or

(iii) a young person or child within the meaning of section 142 of the 1992 Act (child and qualifying young person)(3),

(j) in respect of whom [F3 , on account of the student’s disability by reason of deafness]—

(i) a supplementary requirement has been determined under paragraph 9 of Part 2 of schedule 2 of the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations 2003(4),

(ii) an allowance, or as the case may be, bursary has been granted which includes a sum under regulation 4(1)(d) of the Students’ Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 2007(5) in respect of expenses incurred,

(iii) a payment has been made under section 2 of the Education Act 1962(6) or under or by virtue of Regulations made under the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998(7),

(iv) a grant has been made under regulation 38 of the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011(8), regulation 25 of the Assembly Learning Grants and Loans (Higher Education) (Wales) (No. 2) Regulations 2011(9) or regulation 5 of the Education (Student Support) (No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009(10), or

(v) a supplementary requirement has been determined under paragraph 9 of schedule 6 of the Students Awards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003(11) or a payment has been made under article 50(3) of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986(12) F4 ....

(4) Where paragraph (3)(e) applies to a full-time student and the student ceases, for a period of 56 days or less, to be incapable or to be treated as incapable of work, on the student again becoming incapable or treated as incapable of work, paragraph (3)(e) applies for so long as the student remains incapable or is treated as remaining incapable of work.

(5) In paragraph 3(i)—

(a) head (ii) only applies to an applicant until the end of the course during which the applicant attained the age of 21, and

(b) a reference to a course of higher education is a reference to a course of any description mentioned in schedule 6 of the Education Reform Act 1988(13).

(6) A full-time student to whom paragraph (3)(j) applies, is to be treated as satisfying that sub-paragraph from the date on which the student made a request for the supplementary requirement, allowance, bursary or payment as the case may be.

(7) Paragraph (2) does not apply to a full-time student for the period specified in paragraph (8) if—

(a) at any time during an academic year, with the consent of the relevant educational establishment, the student ceases to attend or undertake a course of study because the student is—

(i) engaged in caring for another person, or

(ii) ill,

(b) the student has subsequently ceased to be engaged in caring for the person or, as the case may be, has subsequently recovered from that illness, and

(c) the student is not eligible for a grant or a student loan in respect of the period specified in paragraph (8).

(8) The period specified for the purposes of paragraph (7) is the period, not exceeding one year, beginning on the day on which the student ceased to be engaged in caring for the person or, as the case may be, the day on which the student recovered from that illness and ending on the day before the earliest of—

(a) the day on which the student resumes attending or undertaking the course of study, or

(b) the day from which the relevant educational establishment agrees that the student may resume attending or undertaking the course of study.

(9) In paragraph (7) “academic year” means the period of 12 months beginning on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July or 1 September according to whether the course in question begins in the winter, the spring, the summer or the autumn respectively but if students are required to begin attending the course during August or September and to continue attending through the autumn, the academic year of the course is to be considered to begin in the autumn rather than the summer.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in reg. 20(3)(f) inserted (31.3.2022) by The Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2022 (S.S.I. 2022/52), regs. 1(2), 6(a)

F2 Words in reg. 20(3)(h) substituted (31.3.2022) by The Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2022 (S.S.I. 2022/52), regs. 1(2), 6(b)

F3 Words in reg. 20(3)(j) inserted (1.4.2023) by The Council Tax Reduction and Council Tax (Discounts) (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2023 (S.S.I. 2023/38), regs. 1, 7(a)

F4 Words in reg. 20(3)(j) omitted (1.4.2023) by virtue of The Council Tax Reduction and Council Tax (Discounts) (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2023 (S.S.I. 2023/38), regs. 1, 7(b)

Commencement Information

I1 Reg. 20 in force at 1.4.2022, see reg. 1

(1)

Section 171E was added by section 6 of the Social Security (Incapacity for Work) Act 1994 (c.18) and amended by paragraph 76 of schedule 7 of the Social Security Act 1998 (c.14).

(2)

1989 c.41.

(3)

Section 142 was substituted by section 1 of the Child Benefit Act 2005 (c.6).

(4)

S.I. 2003/1994. Paragraph 9 of schedule 2 was amended by S.I. 2008/1477.

(5)

2007/153.

(6)

1962 c.12. Section 2 was repealed by paragraph 1 of schedule 4 of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 subject to transitional provisions and savings in S.I. 1998/3237.

(7)

1998 c.30.

(8)

S.I. 2011/1986. Regulation 38 was amended by S.I. 2012/1653, S.I. 2013/235, S.I. 2013/1728, S.I. 2014/2765, S.I. 2015/1951, S.I. 2016/270 and S.I. 2021/127.

(9)

S.I. 2011/886. Regulation 25 was revoked by regulation 3 of S.I. 2012/3097 subject to savings and transitional provisions in regulation 3 of S.I. 2012/3097.

(10)

S.R. 2009/373. Regulation 5 was amended by S.R. 2010/383, S.R. 2013/128, S.R. 2017/7, S.R. 2019/35 and S.R. 2021/50.

(11)

S.R. 2003/459. Paragraph 9 of schedule 6 was amended by S.R. 2008/254.

(12)

S.I. 1986/594 (N.I. 3).

(13)

1988 c.40.