Students Awards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992

• (i) the appropriate proportion of the contribution determined by reference to the income of both parents that is to say such proportion thereof as the part of the assessment year during which both parents were alive bears to the full year subject to a maximum of the same proportion of the student’s maintenance requirements as determined in accordance with Schedule 7; and

• (ii) the appropriate proportion of the contribution determined by reference to the income of the surviving parent, that is to say such proportion thereof as the part of the assessment year remaining after the parent dies bears to the full year subject to a maximum of the same proportion of the student’s maintenance requirements as determined in accordance with Schedule 7.

• (5) Without prejudice to sub-paragraph (6), where, in pursuance of any trust deed or other instrument or by virtue of sub-sections (1) and (2) of section 32 of the Trustee Act (Northern Ireland) 1958[^f00035] or any other enactment, any income is applied by any person for or towards the maintenance, education or other benefit of the student or of any person dependent on the student’s parent, or payments made to his parent are required to be so applied, that income, or those payments, shall be treated as part of the gross income of the parent.

• (6) Where any award such as is mentioned in paragraph 1(1)(b)(i) is made by reason of the parent’s employment to any member of his family or his household (whether the student or some other such member) who holds a statutory award then, notwithstanding the provisions of section 154 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988[^f00036], that award shall not be treated as part of the gross income of the parent.

• (7) Where the parents do not ordinarily live together throughout the assessment year, the parental contribution shall be determined by reference to the income of whichever parent the board considers the more appropriate in the circumstances.

• (8) Where the parents do not ordinarily live together for part only of the assessment year, the parental contribution shall be the aggregate of—

• (a) the proportion, which the part of the assessment year for which the parents do not so live together bears to the full year, of the contribution determined in accordance with sub-paragraph (7) subject to a maximum of the same proportion of the student’s maintenance requirements as determined in accordance with Schedule 7; and

• (b) the proportion, which the part of the assessment year for which the parents so live together bears to the full year, of the contribution determined without regard to sub-paragraph (7) subject to a maximum of the same proportion of the student’s maintenance requirements as determined in accordance with Schedule 7.

• (9) Where the student has a parent and a step-parent, the parental contribution shall be ascertained by reference to the income of the parent.

Deductions

6

• (1) For the purposes of determining the income of a student’s parent (and, accordingly, the parent’s gross income), in so far as in computing his total income for income tax purposes any deductions fall to be made—

• (a) by way of personal reliefs provided for in Chapter I of Part VII or section 280 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988;

• (b) in respect of any payment made by the parent under covenant;

• (c) in pursuance of any Act passed after the passing of the Finance Act 1987[^f00037] on 15th May 1987; or

• (d) without prejudice as aforesaid, of a kind mentioned in sub-paragraph (2),

the parent’s income shall be determined as though those deductions did not fall to be made.

• (2) For the purpose of determining a parent’s residual income there shall be deducted from his gross income—

• (a) in respect of any person, other than a spouse, child or holder of a statutory award, dependent on the parent during the year for which the contribution falls to be ascertained, the amount by which £1,720 exceeds the income of that person in that year;

• (b) the gross amount of any sums paid as interest (including interest on a mortgage) in respect of which relief is given under the Income Tax Acts in respect of a loan to the parent;

• (c) half of the gross amount of any premium payable under a policy of life insurance in respect of which relief is given under section 266 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 (life policy and certain other premiums) in the relevant year;

• (d) the gross amount of any other premium or sum in respect of which relief is given under sections 266, 273, 619 or 639 of that Act in the relevant year;

• (e) where the parents ordinarily live together and one of them is incapacitated, so much of the cost in wages of domestic assistance as does not exceed £1,350;

• (f) where a parent whose marriage has terminated either is gainfully employed or is incapacitated so much of the cost in wages of domestic assistance as does not exceed £1,350;

• (g) in respect of additional expenditure incurred by reason of the fact that the parent lives in a place where the cost of living is higher than that cost in the United Kingdom, such sum (if any) as the board considers reasonable in all the circumstances;

• (h) in the case of a parent who holds a statutory award, the amount by which the aggregate of his requirements for his ordinary maintenance (ascertained in accordance with Part I of Schedule 7) and £700 exceeds the sum payable in respect of maintenance in pursuance of that award.

• (3) In any case where income is computed as though it were total income by virtue of paragraph 2(4), there shall be deducted from the parent’s gross income sums equivalent to the deductions mentioned in (b), (c) or (d) of sub-paragraph (2), provided that any sums so deducted shall not exceed the deductions that would be made if the whole of the parent’s income were in fact total income.

PART III — Spouse’s contribution

Application of Part III

7

A spouse’s contribution ascertained in accordance with this Part shall be applicable in the case of every man student ordinarily living with his wife and every woman student so living with her husband except—

• (a) a student in whose case a parental contribution is applicable in accordance with Part II; and

• (b) a student whose child holds an award in respect of which a parental contribution is applicable.

Spouse’s contribution

8

• (1) Subject to sub-paragraphs (3) and (4), Part II shall, with the exception of paragraphs 3, 4(1), 4(2), 4(3), 4(4)(a), 4(4)(c), 5(4), 5(7), 5(8), 5(9) and 6(2)(f), apply with the necessary modifications for the ascertainment of the spouse’s contribution as it applies for the ascertainment of the parental contribution, references to the parent being construed as references to the student’s spouse and this Part shall be construed as one with the said Part II.

• (2) The spouse’s contribution shall be—

• (a) in any case in which the residual income is £10,785 or more but less than £17,419, £10 with the addition of £1 for every complete £8.30 by which it exceeds £10,785; and

• (b) in any case in which the residual income is £17,420 or more but less than £25,599, £809 with the addition of £1 for every complete £5.95 by which it exceeds £17,420; and

• (c) in any case in which the residual income is £25,600 or more, £2,183 with the addition of £1 for every complete £4.75 by which it exceeds £25,600;

reduced, in any such case, by £100 in respect of each child of the student who is dependent on him or his spouse on the first day of the year for which the contribution falls to be ascertained; and in any case in which the residual income is less than £10,785 the spouse’s contribution shall be nil:

• Provided that the amount of the spouse’s contribution shall in no case exceed £5,800.

• (3) If the student marries during any year for which the contribution falls to be ascertained, the contribution for that year shall be the fraction of the sum ascertained in accordance with the provisions of sub-paragraphs (1) and (2) of which the denominator is 52 and the numerator is the number of complete weeks between the date of the marriage and whichever is the earlier of the end of that year and the end of the course.

• (4) If the student’s marriage terminates during any year for which the contribution falls to be ascertained, the contribution for that year shall be the fraction of the sum ascertained in accordance with sub-paragraphs (1) and (2) of which the denominator is 52 and the numerator is the number of complete weeks between the beginning of that year and the termination of the marriage.

SCHEDULE 9 — Single students with dependants

1

This Schedule shall apply in the case of a student who does not ordinarily live with a spouse or with another person as a spouse.

2

• (1) This paragraph shall apply where the student has dependants within the meaning of Part III of Schedule 7.

• (2) In the case of such a student—

• (a) the sum to be disregarded under paragraph 1(1)(a) of Schedule 8 shall be £1,590 instead of £730; or

• (b) the requirements under paragraph 15 of Schedule 7 shall be treated as increased by the sum of £835; or

• (c) in the case of a student to whom Part IV of Schedule 7 applies, his requirements shall be treated as including the sum specified in paragraph 19 thereof,

whichever is the most favourable to him (disregarding head (b) where, in pursuance of paragraph 3, he elects as mentioned therein).

3

• (1) This paragraph shall apply in the case of a student with one or more child dependants under the age of 19 years and for the purpose of this paragraph “child” shall have the same meaning as in Part III of Schedule 7.

• (2) Such a student may elect that the sum specified as his requirements in Part III of Schedule 7 shall be disregarded and that instead there shall in calculating his income be disregarded £1,920 in respect of his only or eldest child such as is mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) and £605 in respect of every other such child.

SCHEDULE 10 — Sandwich courses

1

• (1) For the purposes of determining the prescribed proportion or the modified proportion where the number of weeks in question is not a whole number, a day shall be reckoned as a seventh of a week.

• (2) In the application of this Schedule to a student to whom Schedule 9 applies, references to Schedules 7 and 8 are to be construed as references to those Schedules as modified in accordance with Schedule 9.

• (3) In the application of this Schedule to a student who is attending a course provided at the University of Oxford or the University of Cambridge, this Schedule shall have effect as if—

• (a) in the definition of “prescribed proportion” in regulation 3(1) for the number “30” there were substituted the number “25” ; and

• (b) in paragraphs 2(a) and 3(b) for “30 weeks 3 days” there were substituted “25 weeks 3 days” .

2

The provisions of Schedule 7 shall, as respects any sandwich year, have effect subject to the following modifications—

• (a) where the period of full-time study does not exceed 30 weeks 3 days, the student’s requirements for his ordinary maintenance shall be the prescribed proportion of the appropriate amount specified in Part I;

• (b) where the period of full-time study exceeds 30 weeks 3 days, the student’s requirements for his ordinary and supplementary maintenance shall be the aggregate of the appropriate amount specified in Part I and the appropriate amount specified in paragraph 5 of Part II;

• (c) the student’s requirement for the maintenance of a dependant shall be the modified proportion of the sum specified in Part III except that where such a requirement falls to be increased under paragraph 15 it shall be increased by the prescribed proportion of the sum there specified; and

• (d) if the student is a person to whom Part IV applies, his requirements under that Part shall be the modified proportion of the amount there specified.

3

The provisions of Schedule 8 shall, as respects any sandwich year, have effect subject to the following modifications—

• (a) the sum to be disregarded under paragraph 1(1)(a) of Part I shall be the prescribed proportion of £730 and the reference in paragraph 1(1)(c) to £1,665 shall be construed as a reference to the aggregate of £935 and the prescribed proportion of £730;

• (b) in calculating the student’s income,

• (i) there shall be disregarded any payment made to him by his employer in respect of any period of experience;

• (ii) the prescribed proportion of his income shall be treated as if it were the whole of his income;

• (c) the amount of the parental contribution applicable to his case shall be the prescribed proportion of the contribution ascertained in accordance with Part II; and

• (d) the amount of the spouse’s contribution applicable to his case shall be the prescribed proportion of the contribution ascertained in accordance with Part III.

Signed

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Education on

E. M. Power — Assistant Secretary — 18th August 1992.

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations, which have effect from 1st September 1992 replace, with amendments, the Students Awards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1991 (“the previous Regulations”).

The Regulations govern the making of awards (“mandatory awards”) which it is the duty of education and library boards to make to specified persons. They do not relate to awards (“discretionary awards”) which, in pursuance of Article 50(3) of the Order of 1986, boards may make under arrangements approved by the Department of Education.

While their text and format do not repeat exactly the provision made in England and Wales, the Regulations maintain parity of awards for Northern Ireland students with their English and Welsh counterparts. They parallel in substance most of the provisions of the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations 1992 S. I. 1992/1270 made by the Secretary of State for Education and Science relating to awards for students from England and Wales.

The principal changes (other than the changes in the rates of fees, grants and allowances) as compared with the previous Regulations, are described below —

• Provision is now made to enable Boards to disregard, in defined circumstances, previous attendance at a course where a person is seeking an award for the Postgraduate Certificate in Education, the Art Teacher’s Certificate or Diploma or the degree of Bachelor of Education (regulation 9(2)).

• A new regulation has been introduced under which Boards may make awards for part-time courses of teacher training (regulation 16). Other regulations and Schedules have been affected as a consequence; notably: regulation 3(1) which now defines a “course of initial teacher training” ; regulation 17(2); Schedule 6(a)(ii) and Schedule 7, paragraph 7(4) and paragraph 13.

• The time limits for the payment of fees have been amended (regulation 17(4)).

• Provision has been made to prevent students who had received a mandatory award to attend a course leading to the Diploma in Higher Education or the Higher National Diploma from receiving a second award to attend a second, similar course. Provision has also been made to prevent students who had received a mandatory award to attend a first degree course of 2 years' duration from receiving a second award to attend a further first degree course of any duration (Schedule 2 paragraph 2). Transitional provisions (regulation 8(3)) have been made in both cases to allow second awards already bestowed to continue to be paid.

• The provision on the payment of tuition fees for sandwich courses has been amended so that, in a year in which there are periods of experience and short periods of full-time study occur (of no more than 10 weeks' study in total), a half-fee instead of a full-fee is payable (Schedule 6 paragraph (a)(vii)).

• The rules for deciding upon a parental contribution have been amended so that, where a student with separated parents lives with one parent but the parental contribution is assessed on the other parent and that other parent dies, the contribution is no longer assessed instead on the surviving parent (Schedule 8 paragraph 3(e)).

• the separate rules for assessing the parental contribution for students whose courses started before 15th March 1988 have been removed (Schedule 8).

Footnotes

[^f00001]: S. I. 1986/594 (N.I. 3)

[^f00002]: S. R. 1991 No. 508

[^f00003]: O. J. No. L257, 19.10.68, p. 2 (O. J./S. E. 1968 (II) p. 475)

[^f00004]: S. I. 1989/2406 (N.I. 20)

[^f00005]: 1977 c. 49, amended by paragraph 11 of Schedule 3 to the Health and Social Security Act 1984 (c. 48)

[^f00006]: 1978 c. 29

[^f00007]: S. I. 1972/1265 (N.I. 14)

[^f00008]: Cmnd. 9171

[^f00009]: Cmnd. 3906 (Out of print: photocopies are available, free of charge, from Student Support Branch, Department of Education, Rathgael House, Balloo Road, Bangor, Co. Down BT19 7PR)

[^f00010]: S. R. 1992 No. 329 EMA Regulations

[^f00011]: 1978 c. 30; definition of “Tax Acts” substituted by 1987 c. 16, section 71, Schedule 15, paragraph 12

[^f00012]: 1992 c. 7

[^f00013]: S. I. 1980/870 (N.I. 8)

[^f00014]: 1992 c. 7

[^f00015]: 1981 c. 61

[^f00016]: 1954 c. 33 (N.I.)

[^f00017]: S. I. 1990/1506 (N.I. 11)

[^f00018]: 1977 c. 5. The relevant order currently in force is the Naval, Military and Air Forces, Etc. (Disablement and Death) Service Pensions Order 1983 (S. I. 1983/883 amended by S. I. 1983/1116 and 1521, 1984/1154 and 1687, 1985/1207, 1986/592, 1987/165, 1989/156, 1990/250 and 1308, 1991/766 and 1992/710)

[^f00019]: 1968 c. 34 (N.I.)

[^f00020]: 1988 c. 1

[^f00021]: 1970 c. 10

[^f00022]: 1981 c. 35

[^f00023]: 1987 c. 16

[^f00024]: S. R. 1987 No. 460; Part III was amended by S. R. 1988 Nos. 132 and 153 and S. R. 1989 No. 371 and S. R. 1991 No. 341

[^f00025]: 1977 c. 5. The relevant order currently in force is the Naval, Military and Air Forces Etc (Disablement and Death) Service Pensions Order 1983 (S. I. 1983/883 amended by S. I. 1983/1116 and 1521, 1984/1154 and 1687, 1985/1207, 1986/592, 1987/165, 1989/156, 1990/250 and 1308, 1991/766 and 1992/710)

[^f00026]: 1992 c. 7; the scheme under section 122(1)(d) is currently constituted by the provisions of the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 (S. R. 1987 No. 461 as amended by S. R. 1988 Nos. 117, 186, 314 and 424, S. R. 1989 Nos. 125, 260, 366 and 408 and S. R. 1990 Nos. 33, 136, 137, 305, 345 and 442, S. R. 1991 Nos. 47, 77, 176, 204 and 337 and 520, S. R. 1992 Nos. 35, 85, 141 and 284)

[^f00027]: 1992 c. 4; the scheme under Part VII is currently constituted by the provisions of the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987 (S. I. 1987/1971) as amended by section 24(3) of the Employment Act 1988 (c. 19), S. I. 1988/661, 909, 1444 and 1971, S. I. 1989/416, 566 and 1017 and S. I. 1990/127, 235, 546, 671, 1549, 1599, 1657, 1775 and 2564, S. I. 1991/235, 441, 587, 1175 and 2695 and S. I. 1992/50, 201, 432, 701, 1101 and 1585

[^f00028]: 1968 c. 34 (N.I.)

[^f00029]: O. J. No. L222, 8.8.86, p. 17

[^f00030]: O. J. No. L166, 25.6.87, p.20

[^f00031]: O. J. No. L239, 16.8.89, p. 24

[^f00032]: S. I. 1990/1506 (N.I. 11)

[^f00033]: 1988 c. 1

[^f00034]: Section 126 was amended by Part II of Schedule 5 to the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 (S. I. 1986/595 (N.I. 4))

[^f00035]: 1958 c. 23 (N.I.)

[^f00036]: 1988 c. 1

[^f00037]: 1987 c. 16