|
Students and Benefits E-bulletin - March 2010
Dear Colleague,
Welcome to the March edition of CPAG in Scotland's students and benefits e-bulletin, keeping you up-to-date with changes to benefits and tax credits which are relevant to students.
Contents:
CPAG news and events
- CPAG in Scotland's advice line for advisers
- Benefits for students training courses
- Benefits for Students in Scotland Handbook
Benefits and tax credits
- Welfare reform for lone parents - October 2010 changes
- Claiming benefit when course ends
- Claiming benefit in the summer vacation
CPAG news and events
CPAG in Scotland's advice line for advisers
Our advice line provides advice and information to advisers and other frontline workers in Scotland on all aspects of the welfare benefits and tax credits systems. Please note we are not able to provide a service directly to people claiming benefits. To contact the advice line you can phone (Monday to Thursday mornings, between 10am and 12 noon, 0141 552 0552) or email
advice@cpagscotland.org.uk
Benefits for students training courses
Students and benefits - an update
1 June 2010 Glasgow (1pm - 4pm)
Introduction to benefits for student advisers
11-12 May 2010 Glasgow (10am - 4pm)
For information about fees click here. To book a place click here or contact Pauline Chalmers on 0141 552 3303 / pchalmers@cpagscotland.org.uk
Please also see our NEW student and benefits flyer. All of these courses can be organised in your workplace or at a venue that suits you.
Benefits for Students in Scotland Handbook
The handbook is now on a new webpage with improved usability. We are however still working on this, and would be grateful for any suggestions of how it could be improved further.
The online handbook will be updated by the end of April 2010 with new benefit rates and other changes since its publication in September 2009.
Benefits and tax credits
Welfare reform for lone parents - October 2010 changes
The final stage of the welfare reform changes to income support (IS) for lone parents takes effect from 25 October 2010. From that date, a lone parent is eligible to claim IS if they have a child under 7 only. If they do not, they will be expected to claim jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) instead.
For full-time students starting a course in Autumn 2010, there are special (‘transitional’) rules that may apply if before 25 October 2010 someone gets IS as a lone parent and is on a full-time course. The special rule means that if the youngest child is aged 6, 7, 8 or 9, the lone parent can stay on IS until the earliest of the following dates:
- the date the youngest child turns 10
- the date the course ends (or possibly later, see table below)
- the date they leave the course (or possibly later, see table below)
If IS stops for any reason during the course, they will lose this protection and will not be able to reclaim IS if their youngest child is 7 or over.
Example:
Judy, a lone parent with an 8-year-old child, is getting IS. She starts a course of further education in September 2010, and continues to be eligible for IS. At that time the legislation says that she can claim IS as a lone parent as long as she has a child under 10. The legislation changes in October 2010 so that lone parents with a youngest child aged 7 or over can no longer claim IS. However, because of the special rules this new legislation does not apply to Judy until she finishes her course, so she can continue to get IS as a lone parent until her course ends in June 2011.
For part-time students there are no transitional rules. Instead, the rule change on 25 October 2010 will mean someone will only be able to claim IS as a lone parent if they have a child under 7. However, IS does not immediately stop the day the youngest child turns 7. Instead, the changes are phased in. Check the table below to see when IS will stop.
The table will apply to:
- part-time students
- full-time students where the course starts on or after 25 October 2010
- anyone else to whom the transitional rules do not apply, eg someone who starts a course in autumn 2010 but does not start getting IS until after that
- anyone to whom the transitional rules did apply but have now ceased to apply e.g. someone who starts a course in autumn 2010, was getting IS, had a youngest child aged 6, 7, 8 or 9, but has since left the course.
|
Academic year 10/11
|
|
On 24 October 2010, the person is
- Getting IS as a lone parent; and
- Their youngest child is aged:
1. 9
2. 8 and will be 9 on or after 25 October 2010
3. 7 or will be 7 on or before 2 January 2011
4. 6 and will be 7 on or after 2 January 2011
|
1. IS stops at next work-focused interview on or after 25 October 2010
2. IS stops on the 9th birthday
3. IS stops at next work-focused interview on or after 3 January 2011
4. IS stops on the 7th birthday
|
Examples:
Donna is a part-time student at college. She has a 9-year-old child, Sam, and gets IS. Donna’s IS will stop on the date of her next work-focused interview on or after 25 October 2010.
Simon is a lone parent with 6 and 8-year-old sons. He starts an FE course in August 2010. His IS continues and the transitional rules (IS until youngest child turns 10) apply. He abandons the course in January 2011. The transitional rules no longer apply as he is no longer a full-time student. His 6-year-old son will be 7 on 4 April 2011. He can continue to get IS until then, but from 4 April, he will have to claim JSA.
Claiming benefit when course ends
From the day after the last day of the course, someone no longer counts as a student. Their student loan (or other student income) no longer counts as income. If they are not in full-time work, and do not have a partner in full-time work, they can make a claim for either jobseeker's allowance, income support (if they are a lone parent, a carer, or in another eligible category) or employment and support allowance (if they are ill or disabled). Whether they/their partner are in work or not, they can claim housing benefit/council tax benefit and, if their income is low enough, can get help with their rent and council tax through these benefits. The key date is the end of term that applies to their course, not the date they stop attending if that is earlier.
Claiming benefit in the summer vacation
Students who are eligible for means tested benefits while they are studying full-time may have their benefit stopped during the academic year, while they are in receipt of a student loan. The student loan stops counting as income from the end of June, and they should reclaim benefit from this date. This mainly applies to lone parents with a child under 10.
Other students who are eligible for benefit while studying full-time, and have had their benefit reduced during the academic year, should have their benefit paid at the full rate in July/August eg a disabled student whose employment and support allowance has been reduced, should get this paid in full over the summer. The same applies to a parent student who has had their housing benefit reduced over the academic year. In 2010, claims for housing benefit can be reassessed based on nil income (assuming student has no other income) from Monday 28 June. The local authority should do this automatically, but it is worth contacting them to check.
Some full-time students are eligible for jobseeker's allowance over the summer vacation: this applies to lone parents, and student couples with a child. They should make their claim towards the end of June.
If you are a student adviser or another professional working with students and have enquiries about any of this, please phone our advice line - see the information above.
^back to top
If you wish to unsubscribe from this e-bulletin click here. If this e-bulletin has been forwarded to you and you wish to subscribe to it click here.
We would welcome feedback on the e-bulletin - please contact us at atoal@cpagscotland.org.uk with your comments. Thank you.
Child Poverty Action Group is a charity registered in England and Wales (registration number 294841) and in Scotland (registration number SC039339). Company limited by guarantee registered in England (registration number 1993854). Registered office: 94 White Lion Street, London N1 9PF. VAT no. 690 8081 17.
www.cpag.org.uk
|
© Michaela Greene
