The Education (Student Support) (Wales) Regulations 2017

Overpayments

62.—(1) Any overpayment of a new fee grant or fee loan is recoverable by the Welsh Ministers from the academic authority.

(2) An eligible student must, if so required by the Welsh Ministers, repay any amount paid to the eligible student under Part 5 or 6 which for whatever reason exceeds the amount of support to which the student is entitled under Part 5 or 6.

(3) The Welsh Ministers must recover an overpayment of any grant for living costs unless they consider it is not appropriate to do so.

(4) A payment of any grant for living costs made before the relevant date is an overpayment if the eligible student withdraws from the course before the relevant date unless the Welsh Ministers decide otherwise.

(5) In the circumstances in paragraph (6) or (7), there is an overpayment of the grant for disabled students’ living costs unless the Welsh Ministers decide otherwise.

(6) The circumstances referred to in paragraph (5) are—

(a) the Welsh Ministers apply all or part of the grant for disabled students’ living costs to the purchase of specialist equipment on behalf of the eligible student;

(b) the eligible student’s period of eligibility terminates after the relevant date; and

(c) the equipment has not been delivered to the student before the student’s period of eligibility terminates.

(7) The circumstances referred to in paragraph (5) are—

(a) the eligible student’s period of eligibility terminates after the relevant date; and

(b) a payment of the grant for disabled students’ living costs in respect of specialist equipment is made to the student after the eligible student’s period of eligibility terminated.

(8) Where there is an overpayment of the grant for disabled students’ living costs, the Welsh Ministers may accept the return of specialist equipment purchased with the grant by way of recovery of all or part of the overpayment if they consider it is appropriate to do so.

(9) Any overpayment of any grant under Part 5 may be recovered in whichever one or more of the following ways the Welsh Ministers consider appropriate in all the circumstances—

(a) by subtracting the overpayment from any kind of grant payable to the eligible student from time to time pursuant to regulations made by the Welsh Ministers under section 22 of the 1998 Act;

(b) by taking such other action for the recovery of an overpayment as is available to them.

(10) Any overpayment of a loan for living costs in respect of any academic year may be recovered if in the opinion of the Welsh Ministers—

(a) the overpayment is a result of a failure of the student to provide promptly information which might affect whether the student qualifies for a loan or the amount of loan for which the student qualifies;

(b) any information which the student has provided is inaccurate in a material particular; or

(c) the student has failed to provide information which the Welsh Ministers consider to be material in the context of the recovery of the loan.

(11) Where an overpayment of a loan for living costs is recoverable in accordance with paragraph (10), it may be recovered in whichever one or more of the following ways the Welsh Ministers consider appropriate in all the circumstances—

(a) by subtracting the overpayment from the amount of any loan payable to the student from time to time pursuant to regulations made by the Welsh Ministers under section 22 of the 1998 Act;

(b) by taking such other action for the recovery of an overpayment as is available to them.

(12) Where there has been an overpayment of a loan for living costs which is not recoverable under paragraph (10), the Welsh Ministers may subtract the overpayment from the amount of any loan payable to the student from time to time pursuant to regulations made by the Welsh Ministers under section 22 of the 1998 Act.

(13) In this regulation “the relevant date” (“y dyddiad perthnasol”) is the date on which the first term of the academic year in question actually begins.

(14) For the purpose of this regulation reference to an eligible student includes a person who has received support under Part 5 or 6 but who does not satisfy the requirements of regulation 4 (eligible students).