The Education (Student Support) (Wales) Regulations 2018

CHAPTER 4 CHILDCARE GRANT

Childcare grant

75.—(1) An eligible student qualifies for a childcare grant in respect of prescribed childcare charges for a dependent child incurred during the current academic year if one of the following conditions are satisfied—

Condition 1

The dependent child is under the age of 15 immediately before the beginning of the academic year.

Condition 2

The dependent child has special educational needs within the meaning of section 312 of the Education Act 1996(1) and is under the age of 17 immediately before the beginning of the first day of the academic year.

(2) But the eligible student does not qualify for a childcare grant in any of the following cases—

Case 1

The eligible student or the eligible student’s partner has elected to receive the childcare element of the working tax credit under Part 1 of the Tax Credits Act 2002(2).

Case 2

The eligible student or the eligible student’s partner is entitled to an award of universal credit which includes an amount in respect of childcare costs under regulation 31 of the Universal Credit Regulations 2013 (child care costs element)(3).

Case 3

The eligible student’s partner has elected to receive financial support for childcare under a healthcare bursary.

Case 4

The prescribed childcare charges are for a period in respect of which the eligible student or the eligible student’s partner has made a valid declaration of eligibility within the meaning given by section 4 of the Childcare Payments Act 2014(4).

Case 5

The prescribed childcare charges are paid or to be paid by the eligible student to the student’s partner.

Case 6

The prescribed childcare charges are in respect of any period between the end of the course and the end of the academic year in which the course ends.

(3) In this regulation and regulation 76—

“dependent child” (“plentyn dibynnol”) includes a dependent child born after the beginning of the academic year;

“prescribed childcare charges” (“ffioedd gofal plant rhagnodedig”) means childcare charges of a description prescribed for the purposes of section 12 of the Tax Credits Act 2002(5).

Maximum amount of childcare grant

76.—(1) The amount of childcare grant payable is 85% of the eligible student’s weekly prescribed childcare charges, up to the maximum weekly amount—

(a) specified in Table 13, or

(b) where paragraph (4) applies, specified in that paragraph.

(2) In Table 13—

(a) Column 1 specifies the academic year in relation to which the maximum weekly amount of childcare grant in Column 3 is payable;

(b) Column 2 specifies the number of dependent children to which the amounts specified in Column 3 relate;

(c) Column 3 specifies the maximum weekly amount of childcare grant payable in respect of the corresponding entries in Columns 1 and 2, where the application for a childcare grant identifies a childcare provider.

Table 13

Column 1 Academic year	Column 2 Number of child dependants	Column 3 Maximum weekly amount
Beginning on or after 1 September 2018	One dependent child	£161.50
	More than one dependent child	£274.55

(3) Where the eligible student has more than one dependent child, the amount specified in the appropriate entry in Column 3 is the maximum weekly amount payable, irrespective of the number of children receiving childcare.

(4) Where the eligible student’s application for childcare grant does not identify the childcare provider, the Welsh Ministers may limit—

(a) the amount of childcare grant paid to the student to 85% of the prescribed childcare charges up to a maximum weekly amount of £115;

(b) the payment of the childcare grant to one quarter of the academic year.

(5) For the purposes of calculating an amount of childcare grant, a week runs from Monday to Sunday.

(6) Where prescribed childcare charges are incurred in respect of a week that falls partly within and partly outside the academic year in respect of which childcare grant is payable, the maximum weekly amount is calculated by applying the following formula—

Where—

• A is the applicable maximum weekly amount, and

• B is the number of days of the week falling within the academic year.

(1)

1996 c. 56; section 312 was amended by the Education Act 1997 (c. 44), Schedule 7, paragraph 23 and Schedule 8, the Schools Standards and Framework Act 1998 (c. 31), section 140, Schedule 30, paragraph 71 and Schedule 31, the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 (c. 22), section 59 and Schedule 2, the Children and Families Act 2014 (c. 6), Schedule 3 and S.I. 2010/1158.

(2)

2002 c. 21

(3)

S.I. 2013/376

(4)

2014 c. 28.

(5)

Regulation 14 of the Working Tax Credit (Entitlement and Maximum Rate) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/2005) as amended prescribes the childcare charges.