Income Support as a lone parent

Hi all

Looking for some input here before I see a client so the details may be a bit sketchy. Single parent gave birth approximately 2 weeks ago was a student. Stopped being a student due to having the baby. She was incorrectly paid her student finance and has repaid this but has been refused income support on the grounds of this student finance. She has evidence that she has repaid the money.

What are the regulations that prevent her being paid is it down to deprevation of income or is the decision incorrect?

Thanks in advance.

There are different rules for grant income (excluding a grant for an adult dependant) and loan income plus grants for adult dependants.

See IS Regs 29(2B) and 40.

A grant counts as income at the same rate used during the course up to the point at which it is repaid.  But loans and dependants’ grants are used as income up to the end of the quarter in which the student abandoned the course.  The calculation of weekly income from loans and dependants’ grants after abandoning is quite generous because it assumes that whole-year disregards for books and travel have been spent in full up front and it assumes that the weekly loan income disregard has been used up as well, so there tends not to be much left.  But if the amount still works out at mnore than the IS applicable amount then yes they are right.

Does it not matter that she has paid this money back? It was a new payment given in error after she had left the course.