The Assembly Learning Grants and Loans (Higher Education) (Wales) Regulations 2009

Part-time grants for dependants — interpretation

96.—(1) In regulations 92 to 95—

(a) subject to sub-paragraph (n), “adult dependant” (“dibynnydd mewn oed”) means, in relation to an eligible part-time student, an adult person dependent on the student other than the student’s child, the student’s partner (including a spouse or civil partner from whom the Welsh Ministers consider the student is separated) or his or her former partner;

(b) “child” (“plentyn”) in relation to an eligible part-time student includes any child of the student’s partner who is dependent on him or her and any child for whom the student has parental responsibility who is dependent on him or her;

(c) “dependant” (“dibynnydd”) means, in relation to an eligible part-time student, the student’s partner, the student’s dependent child or an adult dependant, who in each case is not an eligible student and does not hold a statutory award;

(d) “dependent” (“dibynnol”) means wholly or mainly financially dependent;

(e) “dependent child” (“plentyn dibynnol”) means, in relation to an eligible part-time student, a child dependent on the student;

(f) “lone parent” (“rhiant unigol”) means an eligible part-time student who does not have a partner and who has a dependent child or dependent children;

(g) “net income” (“incwm net”) has the meaning given in paragraph (2);

(h) subject to sub-paragraphs (i), (j), (k), (l) and (m), “partner” (“partner”) means any of the following—

(i) the spouse of an eligible part-time student;

(ii) the civil partner of an eligible part-time student;

(iii) a person ordinarily living with an eligible part-time student as if he or she were his or her spouse where an eligible part-time student is aged 25 or over on the first day of the academic year in respect of which household income falls to be assessed for the purposes of Schedule 6 and began the designated part-time course on or after 1 September 2000;

(iv) a person ordinarily living with an eligible part-time student as if he or she were the student’s civil partner where an eligible part-time student is aged 25 or over on the first day of the academic year in respect of which household income falls to be assessed for the purposes of Schedule 6 and began the designated part-time course on or after 1 September 2005;

(i) unless otherwise indicated, a person who would otherwise be a partner under sub-paragraph (h) is not treated as a partner if—

(i) in the opinion of the Welsh Ministers, that person and the eligible part-time student are separated; or

(ii) the person is ordinarily living outside the United Kingdom and is not maintained by the eligible part-time student;

(j) for the purposes of the definition of “adult dependant” (“dibynnydd mewn oed”), a person is to be treated as a partner if the person would be a partner under sub-paragraph (h) but for the fact that the eligible part-time student with whom the person is ordinarily living is not aged 25 or over on the first day of the academic year in respect of which household income falls to be assessed for the purposes of Schedule 6;

(k) for the purposes of the definitions of “child” (“plentyn”) and “lone parent” (“rhiant unigol”), a person is to be treated as a partner if the person would be a partner under sub-paragraph (h) but for the date on which the eligible part-time student began the specified designated part-time course or the fact that the eligible part-time student with whom the person is ordinarily living is not aged 25 or over on the first day of the academic year in respect of which household income falls to be assessed for the purposes of Schedule 6;

(l) for the purposes of regulation 93—

(i) sub-paragraph (i) does not apply; and

(ii) a person is to be treated as a partner if he or she would be a partner under sub-paragraph (h) but for the fact that the eligible part-time student with whom he or she is ordinarily living is not aged 25 or over on the first day of the academic year in respect of which household income falls to be assessed for the purposes of Schedule 6;

(m) for the purposes of determining whether a person is the former partner of an eligible part-time student’s partner, “partner” (“partner”) in relation to an eligible part-time student’s partner means—

(i) the spouse of an eligible part-time student’s partner;

(ii) the civil partner of an eligible part-time student’s partner;

(iii) where the eligible part-time student began the specified designated part-time course on or after 1 September 2000, a person ordinarily living with an eligible part-time student’s partner as if he or she were his or her spouse;

(iv) where the eligible part-time student began the specified designated part-time course on or after 1 September 2005, a person ordinarily living with an eligible part-time student’s partner as if he or she were his or her civil partner;

(n) subject to sub-paragraph (o), for the purposes of the definitions of “adult dependant” (“dibynnydd mewn oed”) and “dependent child (“plentyn dibynnol”), the Welsh Ministers may treat an adult person or child as dependent on an eligible part-time student if they are satisfied that the adult person or child—

(i) is not dependent on—

(aa) the eligible part-time student; or

(bb) his or her partner; but

(ii) is dependent on the eligible part-time student and his or her partner together;

(o) the Welsh Ministers must not treat an adult person (“A”) as dependent on an eligible part-time student in accordance with sub-paragraph (n), if A is—

(i) the spouse or civil partner of the eligible part-time student’s partner (including a spouse or civil partner from whom the Welsh Ministers consider the eligible part-time student’s partner is separated); or

(ii) the former partner of the eligible part-time student’s partner.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), a dependant’s net income is the dependant’s income from all sources for the academic year in question reduced by the amount of income tax and social security contributions payable in respect of it but disregarding–

(a) any pension, allowance or other benefit paid by reason of a disability or incapacity to which the dependant is subject;

(b) child benefit payable under Part IX of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992(1);

(c) any financial support payable to the dependant by a local authority in accordance with regulations made under sections 2, 3 and 4 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002(2);

(d) any guardian’s allowance to which the dependant is entitled under section 77 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;

(e) in the case of a dependant with whom a child being looked after by a local authority is boarded out, any payment made to that dependant in pursuance of section 23 of the Children Act 1989(3);

(f) any payment made to the dependant under section 23C(5A) of the Children Act 1989;

(g) any payments made to the dependant under section 15 of and Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989 in respect of a person who is not the dependant’s child or any assistance given by a local authority pursuant to section 24 of that Act(4); and

(h) any child tax credit to which the dependant is entitled under Part I of the Tax Credits Act 2002(5).

(3) Where an eligible part-time student or the student’s partner makes any recurrent payments which were previously made by the student in pursuance of an obligation incurred before the first academic year of the student’s course, the partner’s net income is the net income calculated in accordance with paragraph (2) reduced by—

(a) an amount equal to the payments in question for the academic year, if in the opinion of the Welsh Ministers, the obligation had been reasonably incurred; or

(b) such lesser amount, if any, as the Welsh Ministers consider appropriate if, in their opinion, a lesser obligation could reasonably have been incurred.

(4) For the purposes of paragraph (2), where the dependant is a dependent child and payments are made to the eligible part-time student towards the child’s maintenance, those payments are to be treated as the child’s income.

(1)

1992 c. 4 to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.

(2)

2002 c. 38.

(3)

1989 c. 41. Section 23 was amended by the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (c. 41), Schedule 16, paragraph 12, the Care Standards Act 2000 (c. 14), Schedule 4, paragraph 14 and the Children Act 2004 (c. 31), section 49(3).

(4)

There are amendments to sections 15 and 24 and Schedule 1 which are not relevant to these Regulations.

(5)

2002 c. 21 to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.