The Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) Regulations 2009

Made: 1st March 2009

Laid before Parliament: 12th March 2009

Laid before the National Assembly for Wales: 12th March 2009

Coming into force:

These Regulations are made by the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 22 and 42 of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998[^f00001], sections 5 and 6 of the Sale of Student Loans Act 2008[^f00002], and by sections 73(f) and 73B of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980[^f00003] and by the Welsh Ministers, in exercise of the powers conferred on the Secretary of State by sections 22 and 42 of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998, now exercisable by them, and by sections 5 and 6 of the Sale of Student Loans Act 2008:

PART 1 — General

Citation, commencement and extent

1

• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) Regulations 2009 and, subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), come into force on 6 April 2009.

• (2) Regulations 2(2), 21 and Part 6 come into force on 1 September 2009.

• (3) Regulations 15(5)(f) and 18 come into force on 21 December 2009.

• (4) Subject to paragraphs (5) and (6), these Regulations extend to England and Wales only.

• (5) Regulation 80(3) extends to Northern Ireland.

• (6) These Regulations extend to all of the United Kingdom in so far as they impose any obligation or confer any power on HMRC, an employer or a borrower in relation to repayments under Parts 3 or 4 or on any other person in relation to the retention or production of information or records.

Revocation of previous Regulations

2

• (1) The Instruments listed in Schedule 1 are revoked.

• (2) Regulations 4(4), 93 and 94 of the Education (Student Support) (No. 2) Regulations 2008[^f00004] and regulation 51 of the Assembly Learning Grants and Loans (Higher Education) (Wales) (No. 2) Regulations 2008[^f00005] are revoked.

Interpretation

3

• (1) In these Regulations—

• “the 1970 Act” means the Taxes Management Act 1970[^f00006] as amended from time to time;

• ...

• “the 1998 Act” means the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998[^f00008] as amended from time to time;

• “the 2003 Act” means the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003[^f00009] as amended from time to time;

• ...

• ...

• ...

• “the 2000 (Scotland) Regulations” means the Repayment of Student Loans (Scotland) Regulations 2000;

• “the 2011 Support Regulations” means the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011;

• ...

• ...

• ...

• ...

• ...

• “academic year” means the period from 1 September in any year to 31 August of the following year, regardless of whether this is, in fact, the period over which a borrower’s course runs;

• ...

• “the Authority” means—in relation to a plan 1, 2 or 3 loan and subject to regulation 7—the Welsh Ministers in the case of a loan made or deemed made by them, orthe Secretary of State in any other case;in relation to a plan 4 loan—the Scottish Ministers, ora person exercising functions in accordance with arrangements made under section 73A(3) of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980;in relation to a plan 5 loan and subject to regulation 7, the Secretary of State;

• “borrower” means a person—in respect of whom a student loan has been paid, andwho has not received a notice from the Authority or the loan purchaser (as the case may be) that the loan has been repaid in full or cancelled;

• “country” includes territory;

• “country-specific multiplier” means the country-specific multiplier calculated in accordance with regulation 8A;

• ...

• ...

• “eligible course” means any of the following—a course for the Certificate of Higher Education;a course for the Diploma of Higher Education;a course for the Higher National Certificate or Higher National Diploma of—the Business and Technician Education Council, orthe Scottish Qualifications Authority or Qualifications Scotland;a foundation degree course;an ordinary degree course;

• ...

• ...

• “HMRC” means Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs;

• “loan purchaser” includes any person who has entered into transfer arrangements with the Authority or another loan purchaser or both and who presently owns a plan 1 loan;

• “National Insurance number” means the National Insurance number allocated within the meaning of the Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 2001[^f00013];

• ...

• “overseas borrowers” means borrowers making or due to make repayments in accordance with Part 5;

• ...

• “plan 1 loan” has the meaning given in regulation 3A;

• “plan 2 loan” has the meaning given in regulation 3B;

• “plan 3 loan” has the meaning given in regulation 3C;

• “plan 4 loan” has the meaning given in regulation 3D;

• “plan 5 loan” has the meaning given in regulation 3E;

• ...

• ...

• ...

• “principal” has the meaning given in regulation 4(3);

• ...

• “repayment” has the meaning given in regulation 4(2);

• ...

• “repayment threshold” means the repayment threshold set out in, or calculated in accordance with, Schedule 1A;

• “repayment threshold variable” means the repayment threshold variable calculated in accordance with regulation 8B;

• “repayment threshold year” means the period from 6 April to 5 April of the following year;

• “residence” has the same meaning as in the Taxes Acts (whether in relation to the United Kingdom or any other country);

• “retail price index” means the RPI All Items Index published by the Office for National Statistics;

• ...

• “Secretary of State” includes any person exercising functions on behalf of a Secretary of State pursuant to section 23(4) of the 1998 Act;

• “standard interest rate” means, in relation to a loan, the greater of—zero, orthe percentage increase in the retail price index between the two Marches immediately before the commencement of the academic year in which the loan bears interest;

• “student loan” means any of the following—a plan 1 loan;a plan 2 loan;a plan 3 loan;a plan 4 loan;a plan 5 loan;

• ...

• “the Taxes Acts” has the same meaning as it has in the 1970 Act;

• “tax year” –for the purposes of Part 4 and any provision of Part 2 relating to Part 4 means the period from 6 April to 5 April of the following year; subject to sub-paragraph (c), for the purposes of Part 3 and any provision of Part 2 relating to Part 3 means any year of assessment for the purposes of the 1970 Act; for the purposes of regulations 36 and 40(1) and (2) means the period from 6 April to 5 April of the following year

• ...

• ...

• “transfer arrangements” means—transfer arrangements made under section 1(1) or 9(1) of the Sale of Student Loans Act 2008, andfurther transfer arrangements made under section 3(1) of that Act (if any);

• “transferred loan” means a plan 1 loan in respect of which transfer arrangements are made;

• “the tribunal” means the First-tier Tribunal or, where determined by or under the Tribunal Procedure (Upper Tribunal) Rules 2008[^f00015], the Upper Tribunal; and

• “Welsh Ministers” includes any person exercising functions on their behalf pursuant to section 23(4) of the 1998 Act.

• (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Application: general

4

• (1) These Regulations apply to repayments of student loans ....

• (2) The repayment of a student loan is the payment of the following to the extent they have not been repaid or paid—

• (a) in relation to a plan 1, 2, 3 or 5 loan—

• (i) interest payable under Part 2,

• (ii) penalties, costs, expenses or charges payable under Part 2 or 5, and

• (iii) the principal;

• (b) in relation to a plan 4 loan—

• (i) interest payable under an enactment cited in regulation 3D,

• (ii) penalties, costs, expenses or charges payable under the 2000 (Scotland) Regulations, and

• (iii) the principal.

• (3) The principal of a student loan includes any interest, penalties, costs, expenses or charges added to the principal in accordance with any of the following—

• (a) in relation to a plan 1 loan—

• (i) an enactment cited in regulation 3A;

• (ii) the Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) Regulations 2000;

• (iii) these Regulations;

• (b) in relation to a plan 4 loan—

• (i) an enactment cited in regulation 3D;

• (ii) the 2000 (Scotland) Regulations;

• (c) in relation to any other student loan, these Regulations.

• (4) In relation to a transferred loan, paragraphs (2) and (3) are subject to any provision included in its transfer arrangements.

Wales

5

• (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (2) Unless the Welsh Ministers have determined in relation to a loan made or deemed made by them under section 22 of the 1998 Act that repayments are to be collected by HMRC under Parts 3 and 4 and have given notice of this to the Secretary of State and the borrower, no provision of these Regulations made by virtue of section 22(5) of the 1998 Act will apply in relation to the loan.

Scotland

6

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Application to transferred loans in England and Wales

7

• (1) Where these Regulations apply to a transferred loan—

• “the Authority” means, for the purpose of those regulations listed in paragraph (2), the Secretary of State or Welsh Ministers acting on behalf of the loan purchaser (regardless of whether any person is also exercising functions on behalf of the Secretary of State or Welsh Ministers pursuant to section 23(4) of the 1998 Act); ...

• ...

• ...

• (2) The regulations referred to in paragraph (1) are: regulations 15 to 20, 22 to 27, and 73 to 79.

Service by post or electronic communication

8

• (1) Any notice or other document which is authorised or required to be given, served or issued under these Regulations may be sent by post or by an electronic format.

• (2) In particular, any notice which the Authority may give to HMRC may be transmitted electronically, and for these purposes a notice is transmitted electronically where the content and form of a notice is sent and received by electronic media between computer systems operated by the Authority and HMRC respectively.

PART 2 — Repayments: general

Interpretation

9

• (1) In this Part—

• “2006 Support Regulations” means the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2006[^f00016].

• “the 2006 Welsh Regulations” means the Assembly Learning Grants and Loans (Higher Education) (Wales) Regulations 2006[^f00017];

• “course start date” means 1 January, 1 April, 1 July or 1 September of the calendar year where the first day of the course is on or after 1 January and before 1 April, on or after 1 April and before 1 July, on or after 1 July and before 1 August or on or after 1 August and on or before 31 December, respectively;

• “date of receipt” in relation to a repayment is to be construed in accordance with regulation 17;

• “disability–related benefit” means long-term incapacity benefit or short-term incapacity benefit at the higher rate, severe disablement allowance, disability living allowance, industrial injuries benefit and disability working allowance, all payable under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992[^f00018], personal independence payment under Part 4 of the Welfare Reform Act 2012, armed forces independence payment under the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation Scheme) Order 2011, or the amount of any disability premium and severe disability premium included in the applicable amount in calculating the income support payable under the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987[^f00019];

• “direct payment” means—in relation to a plan 1, 2, 3 or 5 loan, a payment under regulation 15(1);in relation to a plan 4 loan, a payment under regulation 7(1) of the 2000 (Scotland) Regulations;

• “domestic borrower” means a borrower to whom Part 3 or 4 applies;

• “end-on course” means—a full-time first degree course (other than a first degree course for the initial training of teachers) which, disregarding any intervening vacation, a student begins immediately after ceasing to attend a full-time course mentioned in paragraph (2) for which the student received or was entitled to receive an award made under the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations 1998[^f00020] (other than an award within the meaning of the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations 2003[^f00021]), or financial support under an enactment cited in regulation 3A; anda full-time honours degree course beginning on or after 1st September 2006 which, disregarding any intervening vacation, a student begins immediately after ceasing to attend a full-time foundation degree course and for which the student received or was entitled to receive any of the financial support referred to in paragraph (a); and

• “total charge for credit rules” means rules made under article 60M of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 for the purposes of Chapter 14A of Part 2 of that Order.

• ...

• (2) The courses mentioned in this paragraph are a course for the Diploma of Higher Education, and a course for the Higher National Diploma or Higher National Certificate of–

• (a) the Business & Technician Education Council; or

• (b) the Scottish Qualifications Authority or Qualifications Scotland.

Functions of HMRC

10

• (1) HMRC must collect repayments from borrowers (whether or not any loan of the borrower is a transferred loan) in accordance with Parts 3 and 4, and the provisions of section 1 of the 1970 Act apply for those purposes as they apply for the purposes of income tax.

• (2) HMRC must, at such time and in such manner as the Treasury may direct, account for, and pay to, the Secretary of State the sums estimated by HMRC (in the manner so directed) to have been collected by it as repayments in accordance with Parts 3 and 4.

• (3) HMRC must account for and pay to the Secretary of State such sums as are referred to in paragraph (2) regardless of whether the Secretary of State is entitled to retain such repayments or receives them on behalf of a loan purchaser.

• (4) Payments to the Secretary of State do not include any interest, penalties or charges payable under Part 3 or 4 and HMRC will cause any such sums which it recovers to be paid, at such times and under such regulations as the Treasury may from time to time prescribe, to accounts to be entitled “The Account of Her Majesty’s Exchequer”, at the Bank of England and the sums so paid form part of the Consolidated Fund.

Transfer of repayments due to a loan purchaser

11

• (1) The Authority must pay to a loan purchaser at such time and in such amount as may be agreed with the loan purchaser any sums which are paid directly to the Authority in connection with transferred loans whether under this Part or Part 5.

• (2) The Authority may make aggregate payments to a loan purchaser in respect of all or a number of transferred loans owned by that loan purchaser.

Officers of Revenue and Customs

12

Any legal proceedings or administrative act authorised by or done for the purposes of these Regulations begun by an officer of Revenue and Customs may be continued by another officer; and any officer may act for any other division or area.

Penalties in relation to Parts 3 and 4

13

• (1) Section 98 of the 1970 Act (special returns etc) applies for the purposes of repayments under Parts 3 or 4 as if any reference in that section to a provision in the Table is a reference to a provision in those Parts 3 or 4 with the exception of regulations 30, 33, 60 and 61.

• (2) Schedule 38 to the Finance Act 2012 (Tax Agents: Dishonest Conduct) applies for the purpose of repayments under Part 3 or 4 as it applies for the purposes of income tax.

• (3) For tax years—

• (a) ending on or before 5 April 2008, sections 100 (determination of penalties by officer of HMRC), 100A (provisions supplementary to section 100) and 100B (appeals against policy determinations) of the 1970 Act apply to the penalties set out in regulation 40(3) in connection with repayments under Part 3 as they apply in connection with income tax;

• (b) commencing on or after 6 April 2008, where the date on which the return is due to be filed is on or after 6 April 2009, Schedule 24 to the Finance Act 2007[^f00022] (penalties for errors) applies in relation to the assessment of penalties and appeals against the assessment of penalties in connection with Part 3 as it applies to penalties in connection with income tax.

• (4) Sections 100 (determination of penalties by officer of Revenue and Customs), 100A (provisions supplementary to section 100) and 100B (appeals against penalty determinations) of the 1970 Act apply to penalties other than those outlined in regulations 40(3) and 40(4) in connection with repayment under Part 3 and all penalties under Part 4 as they apply to penalties in connection with income tax.