Students Awards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations, which come into operation on 1st September 2001, revoke and replace, with amendments the Students Awards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000.

The changes of substance made by these Regulations other than the changes in the rates of fees, grants and allowances are described in the following paragraphs.

A number of minor changes are made. The definitions of “high cost country” and “higher cost country” are amended in regulation 3. The reference to the Royal Agricultural College in subparagraph (iv) of Schedule 5 has been deleted as the Secretary of State for Education and Skills has designated it as an institution eligible to receive funds from the Higher Education Funding Council for England with effect from 1st August 2001 and as a consequence, it will attract the rate of grant for tuition fees for publicly funded institutions.

Where a student is attending a flexible postgraduate course for the initial training of teachers approved by the Teacher Training Agency, as defined in these Regulations, the board is not under a duty to make an award in respect of fees (regulation 6(4)). Furthermore, where such a course is of less than one year’s duration, the student will not be entitled to a maintenance grant (regulation 6(5)).

A new increase in the dependants requirement will be available in relation to childcare costs for each dependent child for students who have not made an election under paragraph 4 of Schedule 8. Students who are parents will be eligible for this increased amount if they satisfy the criteria set out in paragraph 14(1) of Schedule 6. The amount will be based on the actual costs of registered or approved childcare (as defined in paragraph 14(6)) of up to £114·75 per week for one child and £127·50 for two or more children, paid at a rate of 85% for the first 40 weeks (starting on the first day of the first term, for the purposes of this paragraph) and at the rate of 70% for the remainder of the year (except where the student is in his final year) (paragraph 14(2) of Schedule 6). Where a child’s income exceeds by £950 or more the relevant sum specified in paragraph 13(4)(a) or (b), that child can, notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 12 (3), be treated as a dependent child (paragraph 14 (2) of Schedule 6). Such a child’s income, less the sum of £950, will be offset against the amount payable to the student in relation to childcare costs (paragraph 14(5) of Schedule 6). A student who has not made an election under paragraph 4 of Schedule 8, will also be entitled to receive a top-up in the dependants requirements of £250 to the first dependant’s allowance where the first dependant is a child (paragraph 13(5) of Schedule 6) as well as an increase in the dependants requirement of £500 in respect of expenditure on travel, books and equipment for the purpose of attending his course (paragraph 13(6) of Schedule 6).

Students who are lone parents may elect not to receive an increase to the dependants requirement under paragraph 14 of Schedule 7 (paragraph 4 of Schedule 8) and to receive the lone parent’s grant instead (paragraph 2(2)(b) of Schedule 8). They may make one such election either before or during the year, and they are entitled to revoke it at any time during the year (paragraph 4 of Schedule 8). Such students will not be eligible for the additional £250 top-up to the first dependant’s allowance (paragraph 13(5) of Schedule 7), nor will they be eligible for the new travel, books and equipment grant (paragraph 13(6) of Schedule 6).

These students will however be entitled to a higher increase in the dependants requirement under paragraph 16 of Schedule 6 than students who have not made such an election.

The provisions relating to older students, which were previously contained in Part IV of Schedule 6, have been deleted, as they are now spent. The following Part has accordingly been renumbered.

The income thresholds for the parental contribution and the spouse’s contribution have been raised and the calculations above these thresholds simplified (paragraphs 4 and 8 of Schedule 7).