The Education (Grants for Disabled Postgraduate Students) Regulations 2000

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations, which come into force on 22nd September 2000, are made under section 22 of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998. They make provision for grants to disabled postgraduate students to meet additional expenditure incurred in attending their courses by reason of their disability.

Eligible students are disabled students who meet the personal criteria in the Schedule and attend designated postgraduate courses, other than students already in receipt of an award from a research council or an NHS bursary or funding from their academic institution specifically to cover this type of additional expenditure. PGCE students (who are already covered by the Student Support Regulations) are also ineligible. The eligibility criteria are set out in regulation 3 and the Schedule.

Designated postgraduate courses are courses providing education the standard of which is higher than that of a first degree course and entry for which a first degree (or equivalent qualification) is normally required and which is of at least one academic year’s duration, whether the course is a full-time or part-time one. The Regulations enable the Secretary of State to designate other courses (regulation 4).

The Regulations provide for the method of application for grant (regulation 5), transfers between courses (regulation 6), termination of eligibility (regulation 7) and the provision of information by students to the Secretary of State for the purpose of exercising his functions under the Regulations (regulation 8), on a similar basis to those applying to undergraduate student support.

An eligible student is eligible for a grant equal to additional expenditure which the Secretary of State is satisfied he is obliged to incur because of his disability in respect of his course attendance, subject to a maximum of £5,000 (regulation 9).

These Regulations enable the Secretary of State to pay grant at such time and in such manner as he considers appropriate. He may make it a condition of entitlement to payment that a student first provides details of a bank or building society account so that payments may be made by electronic transfer (regulation 10).

Provision is made for the recovery of overpayments (regulation 11).