The Education (Student Loans) Regulations 1996

Statutory Instrument 1996 No. 1812

The Education (Student Loans) Regulations 1996

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STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS

1996 No. 1812

EDUCATION, ENGLAND AND WALES

EDUCATION, SCOTLAND

The Education (Student Loans) Regulations 1996

Made

11th July 1996

Laid before Parliament

11th July 1996

Coming into force

1st August 1996

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Citation and commencement

Revocation

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Interpretation

"accelerated course" means a course which persons undertaking it are normally required by the institution providing it to attend (whether at premises of the institution or elsewhere) for a period of at least 40 weeks in the final year, being a course of two academic years' duration or a course for the degree of BA (Hons.) with Qualified Teacher Status awarded by St Martin's College, Lancaster;

"the Act" means the Education (Student Loans) Act 1990;

"borrower" means a person to whom a loan has been made;

"eligible" means eligible for the purposes of section 1 of the Act read with regulation 4 and the Schedule to these Regulations;

(i) in the case of a course of one academic year's duration, for a period of at least 24 weeks; and

(ii) in the case of a course of two or more academic years' duration, for a period of at least 24 weeks in each academic year except the final year and of at least eight weeks in the final year; and

(b) the nature of which is such that a person undertaking it would normally require to undertake periods of study, tuition or work experience which together amount in each academic year to an average of at least 21 hours a week as respects the periods of attendance mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) above for the year;

"loan" means a loan (whether made before or after the coming into force of these Regulations) towards a student's maintenance out of money made available by the Secretary of State for that purpose pursuant to arrangements made by the Secretary of State by virtue of section 1 or the Act, including the interest accrued on the loan and the amount of the loan from time to time outstanding;

"loans administrator" means any person or body for the time being exercising functions in relation to loans under arrangements made with the Secretary of State pursuant to paragraph 3 of Schedule 2 to the Act;

"periods of work experience" means periods of industrial, professional or commercial experience associated with full-time study at an institution but at a place outside the institution;

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"sandwich course" means a course consisting of alternate periods of full-time study in an institution and periods of work experience so organised that, taking the course as a whole, the student attends the periods of full-time study for an average of not less than 19 weeks in each year; and for the purpose of calculating his attendance the course shall be treated as beginning with the first period of full-time study and ending with the last such period.

Conditions of eligibility

(i) a full-time course; or

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(i) he satisfies the conditions prescribed in the Schedule to these Regulations; or

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(iii) before the commencement of or at any time during that academic year he is a person, or the spouse or child of a person, who has been recognised as a refugee and who from the time of such recognition has been ordinarily resident in the British Islands; and

(c) the loans administrator has received the certified eligibility form referred to in regulation 13(4)(g) or (6)(d) in connection with his application for the loan; and

(i) because he has completed it on a date earlier than that specified by him in the eligibility form referred to in regulation 13 (4)(d) or (6)(a); or

(ii) otherwise than because he has completed it; and

(e) he has agreed with the loans administrator to accept payment of the loan by direct credit to his bank or building society account and has provided the administrator with a signed direct debiting instruction in favour of the administrator in respect or repayments of the loan from that account; and

(f) he has entered into an agreement for the loan not later than the end of the period of 12 months beginning on 1st August in which that academic year begins; and

(g) he is not a person to whom paragraph (2) applies.

(a) before the date on which the course begins has attained the age of fifty years; or

(b)

in respect of the academic year in question is eligible to receive any payment in pursuance of any bursary or award of similar description bestowed on him in pursuance of section 63 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968^[7] the amount of which is not calculated by reference to his income; or

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(d) is in breach of any obligation contained in any agreement for a loan; or

(e) subject to paragraph (3) was under the age of 18 when any agreement for a loan was made with him and who has not ratified that agreement after attaining that age.

(a) the agreement referred to in that sub-paragraph was entered into before 25th September 1991; and

(i) with the concurrence of the borrower's curator; or

(ii) at a time when the borrower had no curator.

(a) more than one academic year, or

(b) more than one course

Designation of courses by Secretary of State

Amounts of loan

£920

£1,485

£1260

£2,035

£920

£1,200

£1,260

£1,645

£1,200

£1,645

£920

£1,485

£1,260

£2,035

£920

£1,200

£1,260

£1,645

Interest

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Time and manner of repayments

(a) no account shall be taken of any repayments due prior to the relevant date which have not been made, but account shall be taken of the amounts of interest which have accrued on such unpaid repayments; and

(i) the rate of interest will not change during the period of repayment; and

(ii) each repayment will be applied to reduce the amount of the loan immediately after the addition of interest in accordance with paragraph (4).

(a) grant any relaxation or indulgence to the borrower which does not vary the agreement for the loan;

(b) require the borrower to make an immediate repayment of the outstanding amount of the loan;

Provided that the loans administrator shall not grant any relaxation or indulgence in accordance with paragraph (a) unless it is satisfied that such action represents a more effective means of recovering the debt due under the agreement than instituting legal proceedings against the borrower.

Repayment by disabled borrowers

10.

(a) allow the borrower to commence repayment of the loan at such date later than that provided by regulation 8 as the loans administrator considers appropriate; or

(b) allow the borrower to defer making repayments of the loan until such later date; or

(c) allow the borrower to make repayments of the loan in such greater number of instalments of such lesser amounts than those provided by regulation 8 as the loans administrator considers appropriate:

Deferment

11.

£1,267

(ii) if the loans administrator so requires, that his gross average monthly income during the three months immediately following the month first referred to in sub-paragraph (a) will not or is unlikely to exceed that amount; or

(b)

another loan is made to him in respect of his attendance at a course other than a course his ceasing to attend which would make the first loan repayable in accordance with regulation 8.

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(c) disability working allowance payable under sections 123(1)(c) and 129 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992.

Cancellation

12.

(a) he dies; or

(b) he is a person to whom paragraph (2) applies.

(a) if he was aged less than forty when he last entered into an agreement for a loan, if he attains the age of fifty or if the loan for which he last entered into an agreement has been outstanding for not less than twenty five years (whichever event is the sooner); or

(b) if he was aged not less than forty when he last entered into an agreement for a loan, if he attains the age of sixty.

Duties of governing bodies in relation to loans

13.

(a) issue to any student who requests them to certify his eligibility for a loan an eligibility questionnaire provided by the loans administrator;

(b) in respect of each eligibility questionnaire completed by a student and returned to them, take such steps as are reasonably practicable to verify the particulars inserted in the questionnaire by the student relating to his eligibility for a loan;

(c) if the student's eligibility cannot be determined solely by verifying the particulars on the questionnaire, take such other steps as are reasonably practicable for that purpose;

(d) issue to each student in relation to whom they have taken the steps required by sub-paragraphs (a)—(c) and whom they consider to be eligible an eligibility form provided by the loans administrator for completion by the student and return to them.

(e) certify to the best of their knowledge and belief the accuracy of the particulars in each completed eligibility form and the amount of loan to which they consider the student to be entitled;

(f) issue to each student in relation to whom they have taken all other steps required by the preceding provisions of this paragraph a loan application form provided by the loans administrator; and

(g) send each certified eligibility form to the loans administrator.

(5)

The loans administrator on receiving an eligibility form completed and certified in accordance with paragraph (4) shall pay £4 to the governing body which sent it.

(a) accept the completed eligibility form from any such student who requests them to certify his eligibility;

(b) if the loans administrator has requested that any of the particulars inserted in the form should be verified take such steps as are reasonably practicable to verify those particulars;

(c) certify to the best of their knowledge and belief the accuracy of the particulars which the loans administrator has requested them to verify and the amount of loan to which they consider the student to be entitled; and

(d) send each certified eligibility form to the loans administrator.

(7)

The loans administrator on receiving an eligibility form completed and certified in accordance with paragraph (6) shall pay £2 to the governing body which sent it.

(i) because he has completed the course on a date earlier than that specified in the certified eligibility form referred to in paragraph (4)(g) or (6)(d) or notified by them to the loans administrator as the expected date on which he will complete the course,

(ii) otherwise than because he has completed the course;

(b) keep records and copies of all documents except loan application forms which they are required by this regulation to issue or certify and a record of any steps taken by them to establish a student's eligibility;

(c) permit the loans administrator or the Secretary of State to inspect the records and copies at any reasonable time and provide them with reasonable facilities for that purpose;

(d) acknowledge receipt of all eligibility and application forms received by them from the loans administrator and provide to it on request brief particulars of such forms which they have issued; and

(e) as soon as practicable notify the loans administrator in writing if they believe that a person has fraudulently obtained or attempted to obtain a loan and provide the administrator with the name of the person (if known) and particulars of the circumstances of that person's obtaining or attempting to obtain the loan.

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(e) in the case of any other person except a refugee, his passport (if he holds one), and a letter or other document issues by a responsible person which contains particulars of his date, place and country of birth and his names at birth.

"eligibility form" means a form requesting particulars from a student relevant to this eligibility for a loan and of his bank or building society account; and

"responsible person" means a consular officer, minister of religion, medical or legal practitioner, established civil servant, teacher or police officer.

Notes:

[1] 1990 c. 6., amended by the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 (c. 13), Schedule 8, paragraph 67; by the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992 (c. 37), Schedule 9, paragraphs 12(2) and (3); by the Education Act 1994 (c. 30), Schedule 2, paragraph 9; and by the Education (Student Loans) Act 1996 (c. 9), section 1(1), and the Schedule. back

[2] S.I. 1994/3045. back

[3] Cmnd. 9171. back

[4] Cmnd. 3906 (Out of print: photocopies are available, free of charge, from Student Support Division, Department for Education and Employment, Mowden Hall, Staindrop Road, Darlington, DL3 9BG or the Student Awards Agency for Scotland, Gyleview House, 3 Redheughs Rigg, South Gyle, Edinburgh EH12 9HH). back

[5] 1962 c. 12; the Regulations which will be in force from 1st September 1996 are the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/3321). back

[6] S.I. 1991/1522. back

[7] 1968 c. 46; section 63 was amended by the National Health Services Reorganisation Act 1973 (c. 32), section 57, Schedule 4, paragraph 124, and Schedule 5, the National Health Service Act 1977 (c. 49), section 129, Schedule 15, paragraph 45 and Schedule 16, the National Health Services (Scotland) Act 1978 (c./29), section 109, Schedule 16, paragraph 26(2) and Schedule 17, the Health Services Act 1980 (c. 53) sections 1, 2 and Schedule 1, Part I, paragraph 19(3), the Local Government Act 1985 (c. 51), section 102(2) and Schedule 17, the Family Practitioner Committees (Consequential Modifications) Order 1985 (S.I. 1985/39), article 6(1), the Health and Medicines Act 1988 (c. 49), section 20, section 25(2) and Schedule 3, the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39), section 180(1) and Schedule 13, paragraph 74(1) and (2), and the Health Authorities Act 1995 (c. 17), section 2 and Schedule 1, paragraph 95(2). back

[8] S.I. 1992/580. back

[9] S.I. 1980/51; amended by S.I. 1985/1192, 1989/596. back

[10] 1992 c. 4, amended by the Social Security (Incapacity for Work) Act 1994 (c. 18), section 1 to 3, 5 to 6, 8 to 11 and Schedules 1 and 2. back

[11] See section 30A(5). back

[12] See sections 30A(1) and 30B(2). back

[13] See section 63(b). back

[14] See section 63(d). back

[15] See sections 94(1) and (2). back

[16] S.I. 1987/1967 (see Parts III and IV of Schedule 2); the relevant amending regulations are S.I. 1988/1678 and 1991/2742. back

[17] 1953 c. 20. back

[18] 1953 c. 37. back

[19] S.I. 1976/1041 (N.I. 14). back

[20] 1976 c. 36. back

[21] S.I. 1987/2203 (N.I. 22). back

[22] 1965 c. 49. back

[23] 1978 c. 28. back

Explanatory Note
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