× Search rightsnet
Search options

Where

Benefit

Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction

From

to

Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Universal credit administration  →  Thread

Welsh Government Learning Grant and Reg 12(2)(b)

HB Anorak
forum member

Benefits consultant/trainer - hbanorak.co.uk, East London

Send message

Total Posts: 2895

Joined: 12 March 2013

Claimant is a 23-year-old with learning disability doing full time non-advanced education (life skills, basic literacy and numeracy).  Her only income is WGLG.  She has not yet claimed UC, but her deputy has been advised by DWP that it would be a waste of time.  Has no pre-existing LCW determination.

The only way she can be caught by Reg 12 is if the WGLG is a “grant” for that purpose.

Reg 2 says “grant” has the meaning in Reg 68, which contains an exclusion where the grant is “made under a scheme to enable persons under the age of 21 to complete courses of education or training that are not advanced education”.  From what I have read about WGLG on the Student Finance Wales website I would have been inclined to think it might just squeeze into that exclusion, but the claimant is 23 so ...

Reg 12 only bites if the grant is for the claimant’s “maintenance”.  Again I have consulted the SFW website and found references to it being paid to “encourage” people to remain in FE, which would perhaps suggest it is for maintenance, but also that is to help with the “costs” of education, which would suggest course expenses like books, equipment and travel.

It seems perverse that for degree students we completely ignore the SSL on the dubious basis that it is for, er,  childcare and stuff, even though there is a separate grant for that, and yet a much smaller grant for someone studying at a far lower level could result in her being forced to survive on £30 a week (thank goodness she has no housing costs at least).

Any suggestions gratefully appreciated.  Thanks.

Elliot Kent
forum member

Shelter

Send message

Total Posts: 3117

Joined: 14 July 2014

I think it turns on what is meant by “maintenance” in reg 12(2)(b).

This isn’t a case like with loans/grants provided by Student Finance England which are specifically for ‘maintenance’, it seems to just be some general grant for whatever the client wants to spend it on. The amount of the grant is pretty small, so it couldn’t realistically be the only provision for someone to meet their living costs (it reminds me of the old Education Maintenance Allowance which used to be paid out up to £30 per week when I was at college - this was great for meeting travel costs or standing in as a bit of pocket money, but nobody would ever suggest that someone could sustain themselves from their EMA alone).

So I suppose then the question is, should “maintenance” be read as inclusive of any payment which contributes in any way at all towards a person’s maintenance, or should it be read down as limited to just a grant/loan which is intended to cover the whole or a predominant part of the claimant’s maintenance? I think that is probably an arguable point insofar as the purpose of reg 12 is to exclude from entitlement people who don’t need means-tested benefits because they fall into some other scheme for the meeting of their living costs, which I am not sure is really what the WGLG is intended to do.

But I not really an expert on either student issues or anything at all to do with Wales, so I would defer to anyone who is…

P.s. The DWP habit at the moment seems to be to turn claims down whenever anyone says the word “student” so I would not put too much weight on the indication which they have given the Deputy. See https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/18060

HB Anorak
forum member

Benefits consultant/trainer - hbanorak.co.uk, East London

Send message

Total Posts: 2895

Joined: 12 March 2013

Thanks Elliot.

I found a thread from a couple of years ago where someone was asking the same question in a case where UC had already been refused and they were going to appeal with the kind of argument you suggest that “maintenance” has to mean something more than de minimis.  I’ve messaged them to find out how it went.