This content has been automatically generated from the original PDF and some formatting may have been lost. Let us know if you find any major problems.
Text in this format is not official and should not be relied upon to extract citations or propose amendments. Please see the PDF for the official version of the document.
WQ.38/2024
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR CHILDREN AND EDUCATION BY DEPUTY I. GARDINER OF ST. HELIER NORTH
QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 19TH FEBRUARY 2024 ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 26TH FEBRUARY 2024
Question
“Will the Minister advise how many student funding applications have been received over the last three years from students who requested that one or more of their parents’ income be disregarded, or applied as an independent student, broken down by –
- the number of applications that were accepted and the reason(s) they were accepted;
- the number of applications that were rejected and the reason(s) they were rejected?”
Answer
Disregard of parental income
Student Finance is administered in accordance with the Education (Grants and Allowances) (Jersey) Order 2018 (the Order). Article 4(6) copied below provides discretion to disregard the whole or part of the income of a parent.
4(6) The whole or any part of the income of a parent may be disregarded if the family circumstances of the student are such that it would be unfair to the student not to do so.
|
Academic Year |
||||
|
2023/24 |
2022/23 |
|||
|
Students who requested that one or more of their parents’ income be disregarded |
32 |
20 |
||
|
(a) the number of applications that were accepted |
28 |
14 |
||
|
(b) the number of applications that were rejected |
4 |
6 |
||
Requests for the disregard of parental income are considered based on the unique circumstances of each application. When the Minister is satisfied that it would be unfair not to do so the whole or part of the income of a parent can be disregarded. If the Minister is not satisfied that it would be unfair not to do so, the application will be assessed on two incomes.
Due to the small numbers involved, the specific reasons which support the decisions made cannot be published as this may risk identification of individuals.
Appeals for independent student status 1
Article 2 of the Order (copied below) defines dependent and independent students and the applicants’ specific circumstances will define which of these definitions they meet. There is no discretion within the Order for a dependent student to be assessed as independent or vice versa, the relevant criteria must be met.
1 Deputy Gardiner confirmed on 21/02/24 that this part of her question is for any appeals ref independent status
2 Dependent and independent students
- A student is an independent student in respect of an academic year if, on or before the relevant date for that year, the student –
- is 25 years of age or older;
- is married or in a civil partnership;
- has been living financially independently of the student’s parents for at least 3 years before the first academic year of the student’s course;
- has no living parent;
- is the natural or adoptive parent of a child of the household; or
- is the subject of an order committing the student to the care of the Minister for Children and Education made under the Children (Jersey) Law 2002 or, before attaining full age, was so subject.[3]
- A student who is not an independent student is a dependent student.
- In this Article –
“child” means a person at or below the upper limit of compulsory school age;
“child of the household” means, in relation to a student, any child whose main place of residence is with the student as part of that student’s household.
Less than 5 appeals of this nature are recorded and due to the risk of identifying individuals it is not appropriate to share any information on the outcome or reasons.