{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/education-student-loans-regulations-1990/note",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/education-student-loans-regulations-1990/note.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/1990/1401",
  "legislation_title": "The Education (Student Loans) Regulations 1990",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/education-student-loans-regulations-1990",
  "path": "note",
  "kind": "note",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Explanatory note",
  "text": "(This note is not part of the Regulations)\nThese Regulations, which come into force on 1st August 1990, are the first to be made under section 1 of and Schedule 2 to the Education (Student Loans) Act 1990 (“the Act”). They apply in relation to an academic year beginning on or after 1st August 1990 (regulation 1).\nConditions of eligibility for a loan are prescribed. A student must be attending a full-time course, or a part-time initial teacher training course (regulation 3(1)(a)). The student must satisfy the ordinary residence conditions in the Schedule to the Regulations or in the Students' Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 1987; or be a refugee (or a spouse or child of a refugee) who has been ordinarily resident in the British Islands since being recognised as a refugee (regulation 3(1)(b)). A loan is available only if the student enters into an agreement for it during the twelve month period beginning on 1st August in which the relevant academic year begins (regulation 3(1)(c)). A student is not eligible if he or she is aged 50 or over before the start of the course; if training to be a nurse and eligible for a bursary from public funds under the Project 2000 scheme; is following a course under the Articled Teachers' Scheme; is in default on a previous loan made under the Act; or if he or she obtained a loan when a minor and refused to ratify the loan agreement on reaching 18 (regulation 3(2)). No student is eligible for more than one loan in any year (regulation 3(4)).\nThe Secretary of State is empowered to designate courses at private sector institutions for the purposes of section 1 of the Act (regulation 4). (A student at a private sector institution is eligible for a loan only if his course is designated.)\nRates of loan are prescribed, differing according to whether the student is in the final or another year of the course, and according to whether he lives in the parental home, or away from the parental home and studies in London or elsewhere. The Postgraduate Certificate in Education is not treated as a final year (regulation 5).\nLoans bear interest at the same percentage as the percentage increase in the Retail Prices Index between June 1989 and June 1990, thus maintaining the value of the outstanding amount of the loan in real terms (regulation 6).\nA borrower will start to repay his loan – by direct debit (unless otherwise agreed) – on 1st April after leaving his course, whether completed or not. Repayments will be made in 84 monthly instalments if the student has received a loan in respect of 5 academic years or more, and in 60 monthly instalments in all other cases. Repayments for the forthcoming year will be calculated on 1st September by dividing the outstanding loan plus the interest which will accrue during the remaining repayment period by the number of instalments remaining (regulation 7).\nThe loans administrator is empowered, in the case of borrowers receiving specified disability-related benefits, to relax the terms of repayment by allowing a later start date and/or longer period for repayment than provided for in regulation 7 (regulation 8).\nA borrower may defer repayments for one year if he satisfies the loans administrator that his gross income for any month does not exceed £965. When assessing gross income no account is taken of specified disability-related benefits. The borrower may resume repayments during the deferment period. Interest accrues on the loans during any deferment period (regulation 9).\nA borrower’s liability is cancelled if the borrower dies; or if a borrower, without being in breach of any obligation: attains the age of 50 (or the age of 60 if he was aged 40 or over when the loan agreement was made) or has had his most recent loan outstanding for 25 years (regulation 10).\nThe governing bodies of institutions at which eligible students are attending courses are under a duty to issue, check and certify eligibility questionnaires and forms, and issue application forms. The duty does not apply in relation to an academic year after 30th June in or immediately following that year. They are also required to notify the loans administrator if a certified student ceases to be eligible (other than by completing the course); keep appropriate records and copies of documents for inspection; and acknowledge receipt of eligibility and application forms and provide brief details of those issued (regulation 11).\nThe Schedule specifies conditions of eligibility. Generally speaking a person is eligible for a loan if he has been ordinarily resident in the British Islands (i.e. the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) for a period of three years ending with the first day of his course.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1990/1401/note",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T15:15:53.816128+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}