New postgraduate loans for part-time study and housing benefit

Are you saying i have grounds to call up the benefits agency, and dispute the amount they say i owe them, because of some new legistlation??

Either you are/were an undergraduate or if you are indeed talking about postgraduate study it cannot be the new postgraduate loan as it has only just been introduced. So the first students with this loan start this October.

Yes I wasn't talking about the new loans, but the undergraduate ones. The jobcentre has told me that it does count towards my income, and thus that is why i have to repay such large sums of money!

Yes, I thought so. The title of these posts is 'New postgraduate loans for part-time study and housing benefit'

Councils don't contact each other they contact the Housing Policy Division of DWP and I have posted a reply from them on this site.

It is UK legislation so you can refer the council to rules in general and they need to calculate it correctly. It may take them time to learn about the new rules. It may take you some time to get through to those who can use the new rules.

If you are lucky they have organised themselves and you will get it done quickly.

Hi

I have been reading through your posts, could you please help me as well. I am looking for information with regards to lone parent students and Universal Credit housing benefit. I am a single parent student, started full time PGCE in Sept. Universal Credit have stopped paying my housing benefit (£880.78) and have reduced my child tax credit to £45 per week. I thought as a full time lone parent student, parents learning allowance is disregarded when calculating housing benefit and that I should get an allowance towards my travelling, books etc. After paying rent and bills every month I am left with no money for transport and struggling financially. I called Universal credit, said they take all Student finance including parents learning allowance as income. They take all the income (student loan and PLA) and subtract £110 per month. Is this correct?Could you please look into Universal Credit policy with regards to lone parent full time students and housing benefit. I need to know if Universal credit pays housing costs for full time lone parent students England.


Kind regards

Concerning the new postgraduate student loan for a part-time student. Assuming a £10,000 loan was taken out over two years. £5,000 in each year of the part-time masters degree. Study is for less than 16 hours per week part-time. The amount of the loan exactly covered the tuition fees so no part of the new Student Finance England postgraduate loan could be claimed to be for maintenance costs despite being paid directly to the student. Assuming that existing earnings are at a level making the part-time student eligible for housing benefit (£70 per week) and that the rent was below the LHA.


Is this loan considered capital or income for the purpose of housing benefit? How is this loan assessed when it comes to housing benefit? Can the student take the loan without losing his rent payments? Using the above figures what would the deduction in housing benefit be, if any?


Please see below.


Kind regards
Sam


P2.897-P2.919

Loans and overdrafts

P2.920

Before deciding whether any loan or overdraft should be treated as income, it will be necessary to have regard to the particular circumstances of the individual case.

P2.921 Money which has been obtained by way of a one-off lump sum for example, would normally fall to be treated as capital, see BW1 or BP1 Assessment of capital earlier in this part. This would particularly apply if a payment is for the purchase of a specific item or items such as a car or a holiday.

P2.922 There may, however be occasions when money obtained by way of a loan or overdraft may amount to other income. An example would be money received in the form of a series of loans which are made periodically to help defray a person’s living costs, although we would suggest that an unused overdraft facility would not fall to be treated as either income or capital.

P2.923 As the way in which to treat a loan or overdraft depends so much on the individual circumstances, authorities may wish, in some instances, to seek advice from its legal advisers. P2.924-P2.999

Yes I wasn't talking about the new loans, but the undergraduate ones. The jobcentre has told me that it does count towards my income, and thus that is why i have to repay such large sums of money!

All my message with my email add is declined to post. I don't know how to contact with Sam. Sam can you please tell which council you r in? I can refer greenwich council to your council for HB calculation.

I think I am not allowed to post personal email add here. Yes I am a spouse of post graduate student .my spouse going to start his course October 2016, part time.his loan £10000 already approved.

Hi

I have been reading through your posts, could you please help me as well. I am looking for information with regards to lone parent students and Universal Credit housing benefit. I am a single parent student, started full time PGCE in Sept. Universal Credit have stopped paying my housing benefit (£880.78) and have reduced my child tax credit to £45 per week. I thought as a full time lone parent student, parents learning allowance is disregarded when calculating housing benefit and that I should get an allowance towards my travelling, books etc. After paying rent and bills every month I am left with no money for transport and struggling financially. I called Universal credit, said they take all Student finance including parents learning allowance as income. They take all the income (student loan and PLA) and subtract £110 per month. Is this correct?Could you please look into Universal Credit policy with regards to lone parent full time students and housing benefit. I need to know if Universal credit pays housing costs for full time lone parent students England.


Kind regards

Hi Could you tell me where i could find these regulations you have quoted? I need to send copies into my Council as they do not know what do.

Thanks you