The Education Maintenance Allowance (Pilot Areas) Regulations 2000

Weekly allowance

8.—(1) Except as provided in paragraph (7) and subject to paragraphs (2) and (3) an allowance (“a weekly allowance”) may be paid in respect of each week during which the student—

(a) is in full-time education at a relevant educational establishment for the purpose of being provided with education which is not advanced education;

(b) is being educated otherwise than at such an establishment, is being provided with education which is not advanced education and, in the opinion of the relevant authority in question, is in full-time education; or

(c) is undertaking unsupervised study for the purposes of preparation for an examination which he is entering in connection with the education referred to in sub-paragraph (a) or (b).

(2) A weekly allowance shall only be paid in respect of a week any weekday of which falls outside the term of the institution which the student attends if the student has during that week spent at least 12 hours in connection with the course which he is pursuing—

(a) receiving instruction or tuition,

(b) undertaking unsupervised study or practical work, or

(c) taking part in any exercise, experiment or project for which provision is made in the curriculum of the course which the student is pursuing, and for the purpose of this paragraph no account shall be taken of time occupied by meal breaks or time spent on unsupervised study whether undertaken on or off the premises of the institution.

(3) In paragraph (2) above “weekday” means any day other than a Saturday or Sunday.

(4) No weekly allowance shall be paid—

(a) in respect of any week if the institution has notified the relevant authority that in their opinion the student has without good reason failed to do everything that is expected of him in accordance with the education maintenance allowance learning agreement and, where the relevant authority is Coventry or Kingston upon Hull, if the institution has notified the relevant authority to this effect on at least one previous occasion during the term in question;

(b) in respect of any week which starts after the end of the period of eligibility;

(c) in a case where regulation 5(6) applies and the relevant authority determines after the beginning of the academic year that the condition contained in regulation 5(1) is to be treated as satisfied, in respect of any week in a term before the term following the date on which the relevant authority so determine;

(d) if payment of a weekly allowance has already been made in respect of the relevant number of terms;

(e) if payment of a weekly allowance has already been made, or would have been made but for sub-paragraph (a), in respect of 38 weeks in the academic year in question;

(f) in respect of any week in which the student is in receipt of a jobseeker’s allowance (payable under the Jobseekers Act 1995)(1) or a training allowance; or

(g) in respect of any week in which the student has not done everything expected of her because of pregnancy or confinement (but without prejudice to regulation 11).

(5) For the purpose of paragraph (4)(d)—

(a) a payment of a weekly allowance is made “in respect of” a term if a payment is made, or would have been made but for paragraph (4)(a) in respect of any week falling within that term;

(b) the relevant number of terms is—

(i) three times the number of terms in each academic year if, during the student’s final school year, the student had a statement of special educational needs made under section 324 of the Education Act 1996,

(ii) three times the number of terms in each academic year if the student is a vulnerable student, and

(iii) in any other case, twice the number of terms in each academic year;

(c) in a case where regulation 5(6) applies and the relevant authority determines after the beginning of the academic year that the condition contained in regulation 5(1) is to be treated as satisfied, payment of a weekly allowance shall be treated as having been made in respect of each term in the academic year in which the relevant authority so determines.

(6) Where a student is educated otherwise than at a relevant educational establishment paragraph (2) shall not apply and paragraph (4) shall have effect as if for sub-paragraph (b) there were substituted—

“(a) in respect of any week if the relevant authority are of the opinion that the student has without good reason failed to do everything that is expected of him in accordance with the education maintenance allowance learning agreement and, where the relevant authority is Kingston-upon-Hull or Coventry, if the relevant authority has formed this opinion in respect of at least one previous week during the term in question.”.

(7) No weekly allowance may be paid where the relevant authority is Suffolk, Sunderland or East Lancashire.

(8) In the regulation “training allowance” means a payment made by the Secretary of State to a person in connection with his use of facilities arranged by the Secretary of State pursuant to section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1973(2).

(1)

1995 c. 18.

(2)

1973 c. 50; section 2 was substituted by section 25 of the Employment Act 1998 (c. 19) and subsections (4) and (6) were repealed by the Employment Act 1989 (c. 38) Schedule 7 Part I.