Regulation 84 Payment of supplementary grantsI1
England and Wales
The Secretary of State may pay support under Part 6 in instalments.
Subject to paragraph (4), the Secretary of State may pay a supplementary grant under Part 6 at such times as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
An academic authority is required to send an attendance confirmation to the Secretary of State.
The Secretary of State must not pay the first instalment or, where it has been determined not to pay a supplementary grant under Part 6 by instalments, make any payment of a supplementary grant under Part 6, to any person before the Secretary of State has received the attendance confirmation unless an exception applies.
An exception applies if—
the disabled students’ allowance is payable, in which case that particular supplementary grant may be paid before the Secretary of State has received an attendance confirmation, or
the Secretary of State has determined that, owing to exceptional circumstances, it would be appropriate to make a payment without receiving an attendance confirmation.
Where a final assessment cannot be made on the basis of the information provided by the student, the Secretary of State may make a provisional assessment and payment of a supplementary grant under Part 6.
Payment of a supplementary grant under Part 6 is to be made in such a manner as the Secretary of State considers appropriate and the Secretary of State may make it a condition of entitlement to payment that the eligible student, or in the case of a childcare grant, a person seeking payment of prescribed childcare charges, must provide the Secretary of State or such person as the Secretary of State specifies with particulars of a bank or building society account in the United Kingdom into which payments may be made by electronic transfer.
No supplementary grant is due in respect of any day of a course year on which the eligible student is a prisoner, unless in the opinion of the Secretary of State it would be appropriate in all the circumstances for support to be paid in respect of that day.
In deciding whether it would be appropriate for a supplementary grant to be paid under paragraph (8), the circumstances to which the Secretary of State must have regard include the financial hardship which not paying the supplementary grant would cause and whether not paying the supplementary grant would affect the student's ability to continue the course.
No supplementary grant in respect of the current course is due in respect of any payment period beginning after an eligible student's period of eligibility terminates.
Where an eligible student's period of eligibility terminates on or after the first day of the relevant course year, the Secretary of State must determine—
the amount of each supplementary grant for which the student qualifies that would be payable in respect of the relevant payment period if the eligible student's period of eligibility had not terminated (the “full amount”), and
how much of the full amount is due in respect of the period which runs from the first day of the relevant payment period up to and including the day on which the eligible student's period of eligibility terminated (the “partial amount”).
If the Secretary of State has made a payment of a supplementary grant in respect of the relevant payment period before the point in that period at which the eligible student's period of eligibility terminated and that payment exceeds the partial amount of that grant—
the Secretary of State may treat the excess as an overpayment of that grant, or
if the Secretary of State considers that it is appropriate to do so, the Secretary of State may extend the student's period of eligibility in respect of that grant until the end of the relevant payment period and determine that the full amount of that grant is due in respect of that payment period.
Subject to paragraph (14), if a payment of a supplementary grant in respect of the relevant payment period is due to be made or is made after the eligible student's period of eligibility has terminated, the amount of that grant due is the partial amount unless the Secretary of State considers it appropriate to extend the period of eligibility in respect of that grant until the end of the relevant payment period and to determine that the full amount of that grant is due in respect of that payment period.
Paragraph (13) does not apply to a payment of the disabled students' allowance in respect of specialist equipment.
No supplementary grant is due in respect of a payment period during any part of which an eligible student is absent from the course, unless in the opinion of the Secretary of State it would be appropriate in all the circumstances for support to be paid in respect of the period of absence.
In deciding whether it would be appropriate for a supplementary grant to be paid under paragraph (15), the circumstances to which the Secretary of State must have regard include the reasons for the student's absence, the length of the absence and the financial hardship which not paying the supplementary grant would cause.
An eligible student is not to be considered absent from the course if the student is unable to attend due to illness and the student's absence has not exceeded 60 consecutive days.
Where, after the Secretary of State has made a payment of a supplementary grant under Part 6, the Secretary of State makes a determination of the amount of a supplementary grant for which the student qualifies, either for the first time or by way of revision of a provisional or other determination of that amount—
if the determination increases the amount of that grant for which the student qualifies, the Secretary of State must pay the additional amount in such instalments (if any) and at such times as the Secretary of State considers appropriate;
if the determination decreases the amount of that grant for which the student qualifies, the Secretary of State must subtract the amount of the decrease from the amount of that grant which remains to be paid;
if the amount of the decrease is greater than the amount of that grant remaining to be paid, the latter amount is reduced to nil and the balance subtracted from any other supplementary grant for which the student qualifies in respect of the course year;
any remaining overpayment is recoverable in accordance with Chapter 4 of this Part.
In the case of a childcare grant—
the general rule is that an application from a person seeking payment of prescribed childcare charges must reach the Secretary of State within the period of 13 weeks beginning with the last day of the week in which the student incurred those prescribed childcare charges;
the general rule does not apply where the Secretary of State, having regard to the circumstances of the particular case, considers that the time limit should be relaxed, in which case the application must reach the Secretary of State not later than such date as the Secretary of State specifies.
Annotations
Commencement
- I1
Reg. 84 in force at 1.9.2026, see reg. 1(1)(b)