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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SECURITY BY DEPUTY R.G. LE HERISSIER OF ST. SAVIOUR
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 5th MARCH 2013
Question
Would the Minister identify the circumstances in which the Department would award Income Support to claimants who seek to enhance their job opportunities through the pursuit of further and higher education rather than by immediately seeking employment?
Answer
As students reach compulsory school leaving age they are faced with a number of options - they can immediately seek employment, they can combine employment with further training through an apprenticeship, or they can remain in the education system, pursuing qualifications either through further or higher education.
When young people in Income Support households reach compulsory school leaving age they become subject to the employment conditions included within the Income Support law. These state that all adults should be engaged in full-time remunerative work unless they fall within one of a limited number of exceptions.
One of those exceptions relates to approved full-time education or training. Any young person who remains in full time post compulsory education up to the age of 19 is automatically exempted from the employment condition. These young adults are normally included within the Income Support household of their parents. Young adults can also make claims in their own right in specific situations, for example, young people with disabilities and care leavers.
For young people who choose to seek employment immediately but do not find a job straight away, the Advance to Work scheme provides both support and work-related training to help them enhance their job opportunities. A jobseeker aged under 19 participating in Advance to Work will be included in the Income Support household of their parents with exceptions, as above, for young people who need support in their own right.
If a young person chooses to enter higher education, they will continue to be included within the Income Support household of their parents (up to a maximum age of 25). During any period of higher education, the family will continue to be entitled to accommodation and household components based on the family size including the student. The living component for the student is not available during term time (whilst the student is receiving a grant from the Education, Sport and Culture Department). However the student can apply for a living component to be included in the parents' claim if they are resident in Jersey during university holidays and are fulfilling the normal job seeking requirements. Again, some young people will be entitled to support in their own right during vacations.