Citation and commencement

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Social Security (Students Responsible for Children or Young Persons) Amendment Regulations 2008 and shall come into force on the day after the day on which they are made.

Amendment of the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987

2.–(1) The Income Support (General) Regulations 1987(4) are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 4ZA (prescribed categories of person), for paragraph (3)(c) substitute–

"(c) any other paragraph of Schedule 1B applies to him and–

(i) in the case of a person with a partner, the partner is also a full-time student and either he or his partner is treated as responsible for a child or young person, or

(ii) in any other case, he is treated as responsible for a child or young person,

but this provision applies only for the period of the summer vacation appropriate to his course; or".

Amendment of the Jobseeker´s Allowance Regulations 1996

3.–(1) The Jobseeker´s Allowance Regulations 1996(5) are amended as follows.

(2) The existing provisions of regulation 15(6) (circumstances in which a person is not to be regarded as available for employment) become paragraph (1) of that regulation.

(3) For the provision that becomes regulation 15(1)(a) substitute–

"(a) subject to paragraph (2), if he is full-time student during the period of study;".

(4) After the provisions that become regulation 15(1) add–

"(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1)(a), a full-time student shall be regarded as available for employment during the period of the summer vacation appropriate to his course, but only if the first and second conditions are satisfied.

(3) The first condition is satisfied if–

(a) in the case of a student with a partner, the partner is also a full-time student and either of them is treated as responsible for a child or a young person; or

(b) in any other case, the student is treated as responsible for a child or young person.

(4) The second condition is satisfied if the student is–

(a) available for employment in accordance with this Chapter; or

(b) treated as available for employment in accordance with regulation 14(1)(a) or (k)."

(5) In regulations 14(1) (circumstances in which a person is to be treated as available)(7) and 17A(1) (further circumstances in which a person is to be treated as available: full-time students participating in a qualifying course)(8), and in paragraph 13(8)(b) of Schedule 2 (housing costs), for "15(a)" in each place, substitute "15(1)(a)".

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 ("the Income Support Regulations") and the Jobseeker´s Allowance Regulations 1996 ("the Jobseeker´s Allowance Regulations").

A person may claim income support only if he or she is within a category of persons prescribed in Schedule 1B to the Income Support Regulations. Regulation 4ZA(3)(c) provides that a full-time student can fall within certain prescribed categories (for example carers or those who are incapable of work) only during the summer vacation and only then if he or she: (a) has a partner who is also a full-time student, and (b) is a person (or whose partner is a person) with responsibility for a child or young person. While retaining the requirement that, if a person has a partner, that partner must also be a full-time student so as to fall within those prescribed categories during the summer vacation, these Regulations extend the provision so that a full-time student who does not have a partner can also fall within the prescribed categories.

A person claiming a jobseeker´s allowance has to be available for employment (see section 1(2)(a) of the Jobseekers Act 1995). Regulation 15 of the Jobseeker´s Allowance Regulations specifies that a full-time student is not to be regarded as available for employment except - for the period only of the summer vacation - where the claimant: (a) has a partner who is also a full-time student, and (b) is a person (or whose partner is a person) with responsibility for a child or young person. While retaining the requirement that, if a person has a partner, that partner must also be a full-time student for the exception to apply, these Regulations extend the provision so that a full-time student who does not have a partner can also fall within the exception - and recast regulation 15 so as to incorporate that extension.

A full impact assessment has not been published for this instrument as it has no impact on the private or voluntary sectors.