The Assembly Learning Grants and Loans (Higher Education) (Wales) Regulations 2007

Payment of grants for living costs

56.—(1) Subject to the following paragraphs, the National Assembly may pay support under Part 5 in such instalments (if any) and at such times as it considers appropriate.

(2) An institution is required to send an attendance confirmation to the National Assembly.

(3) The National Assembly must not pay the first instalment or, where it has been determined not to pay support under Part 5 by instalments, make any payment of support under Part 6 to an eligible student before it has received the confirmation unless an exception applies.

(4) An exception applies if—

(a) a disabled students' allowance is payable in which case that particular grant may be paid before the National Assembly has received an attendance confirmation; or

(b) the National Assembly has determined that owing to exceptional circumstances it would be appropriate to make a payment without receiving an attendance confirmation.

(5) Where a final assessment cannot be made on the basis of the information provided by the student, the National Assembly may make a provisional assessment and payment of support under Part 5.

(6) Payments of support under Part 5 are to be made in such manner as the National Assembly considers appropriate and it may make it a condition of entitlement to payment that the eligible student must provide it with particulars of a bank or building society account in the United Kingdom into which payments may be made by electronic transfer.

(7) No support under Part 5 is due in respect of any payment period beginning after an eligible student’s period of eligibility terminates.

(8) Where an eligible student’s period of eligibility terminates on or after the relevant date, the National Assembly must determine—

(a) the amount of each grant for living and other costs for which the student qualifies that would be payable in respect of the relevant payment period if the eligible student’s period of eligibility had not terminated ( the “full amount”); and

(b) how much of the full amount is due in respect of the period which runs from the first day of the relevant payment period up to and including the day on which the eligible student’s period of eligibility terminated ( the “partial amount”).

(9) In this regulation, the “relevant date” (“dydy ddiad perthnasol”) is the date on which the first term of the academic year in question actually begins.

(10) If the National Assembly has made a payment of grant for living and other costs in respect of the relevant payment period before the point in that period at which the eligible student’s period of eligibility terminated and that payment exceeds the partial amount of that grant—

(a) it may treat the excess as an overpayment of that grant

(b) if it considers that it is appropriate to do so it may extend the student’s period of eligibility in respect of that grant until the end of the relevant payment period and determine that the full amount of the grant is due in respect of that payment period.

(11) If a payment of a grant for living and other costs in respect of the relevant payment period is due to be made or is made after the eligible student’s period of eligibility has terminated, the amount of that grant due is the partial amount unless the National Assembly considers it appropriate to extend the period of eligibility in respect of that grant until the end of the relevant payment period and to determine that the full amount of that grant is due in respect of that payment period.

(12) No support under Part 5 is due in respect of a payment period during any part of which an eligible student is absent from his or her course, unless in the opinion of the National Assembly it would be appropriate in all the circumstances for support to be paid in respect of the period of absence.

(13) In deciding whether it would be appropriate for support to be due under paragraph (12) the circumstances to which the National Assembly must have regard include the reason for the student’s absence, the length of the absence and the financial hardship which not paying the support would cause.

(14) An eligible student is not to be considered absent from his or her course if he or she is unable to attend due to illness and his or her absence has not exceeded 60 days.

(15) Where, after the National Assembly has made any payment of support under Part 5 or Part 6, it makes a determination of the amount of a grant for living and other costs for which the student qualifies either for the first time or by way of revision of a provisional or other determination of that amount—

(a) if the determination increases the amount of that grant for which the student qualifies it must pay the additional amount in such instalments (if any) and at such times as it considers appropriate;

(b) if the determination decreases the amount of that grant for which the student qualifies it must subtract the amount of the decrease from the amount of that grant which remains to be paid;

(c) if the amount of the decrease is greater than the amount of that grant remaining to be paid the latter amount is reduced to nil and the balance subtracted from any other grant for living and other costs for which the student qualifies in respect of the academic year;

(d) any remaining overpayment is recoverable in accordance with regulation 60 .