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Academic Year 13/14 Student Support Policy for Full-time
and Part-time students
Grants for Dependants Available Support
Maintenance Grant/SSG (2009 Cohort)
Maintenance Grant/SSG (2012 Cohort)
Distance
Learning Students (2009 Cohort & before)
Graduate Entry Medical & Dental Students
QTS &QTLS Changes to Eligibility Criteria
Child of a Swiss National
UK Distance Learning Students
EU Distance Learning Students
Armed Forces
Repayment Online Declarations Training and Development Agency ERASMUS Students SFNI Students
NI in ROI
Available Support
Institutional Bursaries
Initial Teacher Training Courses
NI Domiciled Students Applying to Scottish HEIs SFW Students
Partial Loan Cancellation
Available Support
Grants for Dependants(GFDs)
Household Income
The method used when Grants for Dependants are financially assessed is being impacted by
number of changes. The following changes will impact both new and returning students in
England and Northern Ireland:
•
For the assessment of GFDs, the income that will be used in the assessment will be from the Prior
Financial Year as opposed to taking estimates of the net income for the Academic Year ahead. For
partners and other adult dependants, this will be the gross taxable income. For child dependants,
this will be the net income.
•
Income submitted by partners will be subject to a VHI check (England only) for each year the
student is wanting to be assessed for GFDs
•
Income from other adult dependents (i.e. not partners) will not be subject to VHI checks
Financial Commitments
New Students
Any new student applying for GFDs in AY13/14 will not have to provide details of previous and ongoing
financial commitments for the current Academic Year.
To take account of this change, they will also be subject to new disregards that are used in the manual
calculation of GFDs based on the student’s family situation. The new disregards are as follows:
Eligible student has no dependent child
£6,159
Eligible student is not a lone parent and has one dependent child
£8,473
Eligible student is not a lone parent and has more than one
£9,627
dependent child
Eligible student is a lone parent and has one dependent child
£9,627
Eligible student is a lone parent and has more than one
£10,792
dependent child
This change will be reflected in Section 9 of AY13/14 PN1 form.
Continuing Students
Any continuing student applying for GFDs in AY13/14 will continue to provide details of previous and
ongoing financial commitments for the current Academic Year. They will also remain subject to the
current disregards that are in place and are used in the manual calculation of GFDs. Therefore,
Section 9 of AY13/14 PR1 form will remain unchanged.
Childcare Cap
In addition to the above changes, there is also an impact on new and continuing students in
England and Northern Ireland in AY13/14 who are applying for the Childcare Grant (CCG):
•
When a student completes a CCG1form, the form requests details of the student’s childcare
provider. The form can be completed without providing these details and the student will still
receive the 1st instalment of any CCG they are entitled to receive but there can be a potential for
Grant overpayment/underpayment to the student without these details at this point
•
In order to prevent this happening, any student who completes a CCG1 form without providing the
childcare provider details will have the 1st instalment of their CCG capped.
•
The cap will consist of the student receiving the lower of either £115 per week or 85% of their
estimated childcare costs
•
Once the student supplies details of the childcare provider, a re-assessment will be carried out
and any underpayment that exists will be paid to the student
•
The cap will only ever apply to the student’s 1st instalment as subsequent instalments of CCG are
never paid out without the details of the childcare provider.
•
As this change is affecting both new & returning students, the CCG1 form will still be required to
be completed by both types of student
Note: The 1st instalment will be specific to their course start date
Transitional Protection
The change from using current academic year income to prior financial year income of partners and
dependants applies to all applicants, new and continuing.
The removal of financial obligations and increase in the level of disregards will only apply to students
who are starting a course in AY 2013/14 or later (irrespective of whether the student has previously
applied for targeted support products or not). They will not apply to those students who are:
•
continuing on a course which started prior to AY 2013/14;
•
transferring in AY 2013/14 or later from a course which started before AY 2013/14, where there
was no change of mode of study*;
England only:
•
starting an ‘end-on’ course (as defined in the English Student Support Regulations) in AY 2013/14
or later following a lower level course which started before AY 2012/13; or
•
starting a top up course to Honours degree in AY 2013/14 or later immediately after (disregarding
any intervening vacation) successfully completing a lower level course which started in AY
2012/13
•
The cap will consist of the student receiving the lower of either £115 per week or 85% of their
estimated childcare costs
•
Once the student supplies details of the childcare provider, a re-assessment will be carried out
and any underpayment that exists will be paid to the student
•
The cap will only ever apply to the student’s 1st instalment as subsequent instalments of CCG are
never paid out without the details of the childcare provider.
•
As this change is affecting both new & returning students, the CCG1 form will still be required to
be completed by both types of student
Note: The 1st instalment will be specific to their course start date
Example
Robyn starts a full-time course in September 2013. She applies for Childcare Grant but does not
supply details of a childcare provider on her initial Childcare Grant application. She has two children
and estimates childcare costs at £350 per week. Robyn’s Childcare Grant for the first payment period
will be capped at £115 per week, or 85% of actual costs, whichever is less, because she has not
supplied details of a childcare provider. In this case the maximum amount payable is £115 per week.
Robyn contacts SLC to provide details of a childcare provider during the first term of the academic
year. Her Childcare Grant for the first payment period will be reassessed. In this case the maximum
amount payable after reassessment is £255 per week. The extra amount of Childcare Grant payable to
Robyn will be paid to her following reassessment.