Benefits for Students in Scotland Handbook 2020/21Part 1: Benefits and tax creditsChapter 7: Income support 2. Who is eligible
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2. Who is eligible
As new claims cannot be made, students getting income support (IS) will be those who were already on IS before starting the course, and who are eligible for IS as a student. If you cannot get IS, you may be able to get universal credit (UC) instead - eg, if you are a parent (see Chapter 11).
To qualify for IS, you must be in one of the groups eligible to claim and you must satisfy all the basic rules described on here.
Only certain groups of students are eligible for IS, depending on your age and your course. To check whether you can get IS if you are:
    •under 20 and in ‘relevant education’, see here; or
    •19 or over and a full-time student, unless you are aged 19 and count as being in relevant education, see here; or
    •under 19 in full-time advanced education, see here; or
    •studying part time, see here.
Under 20 in relevant education
Generally, you cannot get IS if you are under 20 and in ‘relevant education’, but there are exceptions.1s124(1)(d) SSCBA 1992
 
1     s124(1)(d) SSCBA 1992 »
What is relevant education
You count as being in relevant education if you are a ‘qualifying young person’ for child benefit purposes (see here) – ie, you are 19 or under and attending a full-time course of non-advanced education or an approved training course (see here) which you were accepted on, enrolled on or started when you were under 19.1Reg 12 IS Regs; s142 SSCBA 1992 If you are accepted on, enrol on or start a full-time course of non-advanced education on or after your 19th birthday, you are not in relevant education. The rules on here apply to you instead.
Full-time non-advanced education
Your course is classed as ‘full time’ for IS purposes if it is for more than 12 hours a week during term time. These 12 hours include classes and supervised study, but not meal breaks or unsupervised study either at home or at college.2Reg 1(3) CB Regs
‘Non-advanced education’ is anything below degree, Higher National Certificate (HNC) or Higher National Diploma (HND) level, and includes school-level courses.
Non-advanced courses
Advanced courses
National Qualifications (NQ) Nationals 1 to 5
HNC
NQ Higher or Advanced Higher
HND
Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) levels 1–3
SVQ level 4 or 5
National Progression Awards
National Certificate
Degree level
Scottish Wider Access Programme
Postgraduate
You may still count as being in relevant education for a period after your course ends (see here).
 
1     Reg 12 IS Regs; s142 SSCBA 1992 »
2     Reg 1(3) CB Regs »
Who can get income support
If you are aged 16, 17, 18 (or, in some cases, 19 – see above), and in relevant education, you are eligible for IS if you are in one of the following groups.1Reg 13(2) and Sch 1B para 15 IS Regs
    •You are an orphan and no one is acting in place of your parent. You do not qualify if, for example, you are living with a foster parent or being looked after by the local authority.
    •You must live away from your parents or anyone acting in their place because you are estranged from them. Decision makers should believe you if you say you are estranged unless there is a doubt, in which case a decision maker may seek further evidence.2Vol 4, para 20686 DMG It is possible to be estranged from a parent even if you do not both feel the same way about it.3CIS/4096/2005
    •You must live away from your parents because there is a serious risk to your physical or mental health, or because you are in physical or moral danger. Decision makers are advised to accept your own evidence of physical or moral danger unless there is stronger evidence to the contrary.4Vol 4, para 20693 DMG
    •You are living away from your parents and anyone acting in their place, they cannot support you financially, and:
      ◦they are chronically sick or physically or mentally disabled; or
      ◦they are in prison; or
      ◦they are not allowed to enter Britain.
    •You are a parent and your child lives with you.
    •You are a refugee learning English in certain circumstances (see here).
    •You have left local authority care and you have to live away from your parents or anyone acting in their place. However, 16/17-year-old care leavers normally get financial support from the local authority social work department, and you cannot get IS in relevant education unless you are a lone parent.5Reg 2 C(LC)SSB(S) Regs
Examples
Pete is 17 and studying cookery full time leading to a National Certificate. His father is in prison and his mother is chronically ill. Neither of them can support him financially and he does not live with them. He is eligible for IS.
Ginny is 18 and studying information technology for a National Certificate. She is the mother of a two-year-old child and they both live with Ginny’s parents. She is eligible for IS.
Ahmed is 18 and studying full time for Highers. He is a refugee whose parents live in Somalia. It would be dangerous for him to return home. Ahmed is eligible for IS.
Kelly is 16 and studying full time for Highers. She has lived on her own since her father told her to leave home. She is estranged from both her parents. She is eligible for IS.
Laurie is 17 and has left local authority care. She is undertaking a full-time SVQ in beauty therapy. She is a lone parent and so is not excluded from IS as a 16/17-year-old care leaver.
Once you reach your 20th birthday, you are no longer classed as being in ‘relevant education’ and cannot get IS under these rules. You may be able to continue to get IS as a full-time or part-time student, but only if you are in one of those groups who are eligible (see here and here).
In particular, your claim for IS may be able to continue if you are under 22 on a non-advanced course and without parental support – ie, you are in one of the first four groups in the list above.
If you cannot get IS, you may be able to claim UC instead. Otherwise, you may need to contact your college for discretionary financial assistance.
 
1     Reg 13(2) and Sch 1B para 15 IS Regs »
2     Vol 4, para 20686 DMG »
3     CIS/4096/2005 »
4     Vol 4, para 20693 DMG »
5     Reg 2 C(LC)SSB(S) Regs »
Parents claiming for you
If you are in relevant education but are not in any of the above groups, you cannot get IS. Your parents may be able to get child benefit and UC (or child tax credit (CTC)) for you (see Chapters 2 and 12).
If you get IS for yourself, the amount of your parents’ benefit may reduce, as:
    •any child benefit, UC or CTC they get for you stops;
    •any IS or income-based JSA they get for you stops;1Reg 14(2) IS Regs; reg 76(2) JSA Regs
    •any working tax credit they get stops, unless there are other dependent children in the family or they qualify in another way.
 
1     Reg 14(2) IS Regs; reg 76(2) JSA Regs »
When a course ends
You count as being in relevant education if you have finished a course of non-advanced education and are enrolled or accepted on another such course.1Reg 3(2)(b) CB Regs This means you are still in relevant education during the summer vacation between courses. Otherwise, you still count as being in relevant education when you finish a course until the latest of the following dates, or until you turn 20 if that is earlier:
    •31 August after your 16th birthday;2Reg 4 CB Regs
    •for 16/17-year-olds, 20 weeks after your course ends if you are registered with Skills Development Scotland. This is the ‘extension period’ rule in child benefit (see here). Note: if you are an orphan, estranged from your parents, living away from your parents because of a risk to your health or because they cannot support you financially, or a care leaver, the requirement that someone must have received child benefit for you immediately before the period started does not apply;3Reg 13(2A)(b) IS Regs; reg 5 CB Regs
    •the last day in February, May, August or November following the date the course ends (an exception allows some young people finishing Highers in May to count as being in relevant education until the end of August).4Reg 7 CB Regs
 
1     Reg 3(2)(b) CB Regs »
2     Reg 4 CB Regs »
3     Reg 13(2A)(b) IS Regs; reg 5 CB Regs »
4     Reg 7 CB Regs »
19 or over and a full-time student
If you are a full-time student aged 19 or over, whether in non-advanced or advanced education, you cannot usually get IS during your ‘period of study’, but there are exceptions.1Reg 4ZA(2) IS Regs If you are aged 19 and in relevant education, you come under the rules above.
Period of study
The ‘period of study’ starts on the first day of the course and ends on the last day of the course – ie, the last day of the final academic year.2Regs 2(1), definition of ‘period of study’, and 61(1), definition of ‘last day of the course’, IS Regs It only ends earlier than this if you abandon your course or are dismissed from it, in which case it ends on the day that happens. You are within your period of study during all vacations and, for sandwich courses, during periods of work placements. In your first year, you do not count as a student at all until you first start attending or undertaking the course.3Reg 61(2)(b) IS Regs So if the course has already begun, you are not excluded from IS as a student until the day you actually start.
 
1     Reg 4ZA(2) IS Regs »
2     Regs 2(1), definition of ‘period of study’, and 61(1), definition of ‘last day of the course’, IS Regs »
3     Reg 61(2)(b) IS Regs »
Who counts as a full-time student
You count as a ‘full-time student’ if you are ‘attending or undertaking a full-time course of study at an educational establishment’.1Reg 61(1), definition of ‘full-time student’, IS Regs There are two definitions of ‘full time’ that apply: the first covers mostly courses of advanced education; the second covers most courses of non-advanced education.
    •Advanced education. Your course is full time if it is classed as full time by the institution. If the institution describes the course as full time, you need convincing evidence to persuade the DWP otherwise, bearing in mind that what matters is the course itself rather than the hours you attend.2R(SB) 40/83; R(SB) 41/83 This definition covers all courses of advanced education funded, in whole or in part, by the Scottish government, and any courses of non-advanced education that are not wholly or partly funded by the Scottish government at a further education (FE) college.
    •Non-advanced education. Your course is full time if it involves more than 16 hours a week classroom or workshop learning under the direct guidance of teaching staff, or 16 hours or less if your hours are made up of more than 21 hours a week of structured study hours.3Reg 61(1)(c), definition of ‘full-time course of study’, IS Regs What matters is the number of hours specified in a document signed by the college. This is often called a ‘learning agreement’, but your college may refer to it by some other name. This definition applies if you are at an FE college, not undertaking a higher education course and your course is fully or partly funded by the Scottish government. Courses funded by the Scottish government include school qualifications like NQs from Access level to Advanced Higher, SVQs and National Certificates.
 
Sandwich courses
You count as a full-time student if you are on a sandwich course. A ‘sandwich course’ is made up of alternate periods of work experience and full-time study at college or university, where the study periods add up to at least 18 weeks in the year.4Reg 61(1), definition of ‘sandwich course’, IS Regs; reg 4(2) The Education (Student Loans) (Scotland) Regulations 2007, No.154
Work experience includes periods of employment abroad for modern language students whose course is at least half composed of modern language study.
Initial teacher training courses are not treated as sandwich courses.
 
Modular courses
A ‘modular course’ is one that is made up of two or more modules and you are required to do a certain number to complete the course.5Reg 61(4) IS Regs If you are attending or undertaking part of a modular course that is full time according to the rules described above, you are regarded as being a full-time student for the duration of that module, from the day it begins until the last day of registration on the module (or earlier if you abandon the course or are dismissed from it). This includes all vacations during the module on which you are registered and, except for the final module, the vacation immediately following it. It also includes periods when you are attending the course to do re-sits. If the modular course allows you to undertake some modules on a part-time basis, you are not excluded from IS while you are studying part time.
 
Postgraduates
If you are a postgraduate, the law is not clear on whether you still count as a student during the period at the end of your course when you are writing up your thesis. DWP guidance says someone is ‘not a full-time student during the period after the end of the course when they are expected to complete any course work’.6Vol 6, para 30238 DMG If you are refused IS, consider appealing. You could try arguing that you are no longer attending or undertaking a course.
 
1     Reg 61(1), definition of ‘full-time student’, IS Regs »
2     R(SB) 40/83; R(SB) 41/83 »
3     Reg 61(1)(c), definition of ‘full-time course of study’, IS Regs  »
4     Reg 61(1), definition of ‘sandwich course’, IS Regs; reg 4(2) The Education (Student Loans) (Scotland) Regulations 2007, No.154 »
5     Reg 61(4) IS Regs »
6     Vol 6, para 30238 DMG »
Who can get income support
You can get IS if you are:1Reg 4ZA(3) IS Regs
    •a lone parent (see here);
    •a single foster parent (see here);
    •in a couple, your partner is also a full-time student and you have a child (but you can only get IS in the long vacation – see here);
    •a refugee learning English (see here);
    •on a non-advanced course, under 22 and without parental support (see here).
 
Lone parents
To qualify as a lone parent, your youngest child must normally be under age five (you can also qualify if you are under 18, regardless of your youngest child’s age).2Sch 1B para 1 IS Regs; s137 SSCBA 1992 Once your youngest child reaches her/his fifth birthday, you no longer count as a lone parent and your IS stops.
 
Examples
Julie is studying full time for a degree in chemistry. She is a lone parent with a three-year-old child. She is eligible for IS.
Anne is a lone parent with a 14-year-old daughter who has a disability. Anne is a full-time student on a four-year degree course and gets housing benefit which includes a severe disability premium. She is not eligible for IS as a lone parent, but is eligible as a carer in the summer vacation only.
You may be required to attend work-focused interviews if your youngest child is aged one to four, and to undertake work-related activity if your youngest child is aged three or four.
If you are a lone parent and your child is above the age at which you count as a lone parent for IS, but is under 20 and a qualifying young person (see here), in certain circumstances you can get IS during the summer vacation. You must be in one of the other groups of people who are eligible for IS, such as a carer (see here), and you must be eligible to make a new claim for IS (see here).
 
Single foster parents
You are eligible if you are a single foster parent with a child under 16. This includes kinship carers who are caring for a ‘looked-after’ child (sometimes referred to as ‘approved kinship carers’).
Example
Emma is studying full time for an HND in social care. She is single and fosters a 13-year-old boy. She is eligible for IS.
 
Couples
If you have a child and your partner is also a full-time student, you are not excluded from IS in the summer vacation.3Reg 4ZA(3)(c) IS Regs To be eligible, you must be in one of the groups of people who can get IS (eg, a carer), listed under ‘studying part time’ on here. Your child must be under 16, or under 20 and still a qualifying young person (see here). During term time and short vacations, you are not eligible for IS.
If your partner is not a full-time student or is a part-time student, s/he is not excluded from IS and can get IS for you as well as for her/himself whether or not you have a child. S/he can get IS throughout the year, not just in the long vacation. To be eligible, s/he must be in one of the groups of people who can get IS listed on here.
 
Refugees
Your English course must be more than 15 hours a week and aimed at helping you get work. You must have refugee status and you must have been in Britain for a year or less when your course starts. Payment of IS is limited to nine months.4Sch 1B para 18 IS Regs
 
Under 22 without parental support
To qualify, you must be on a full-time course of non-advanced education on which you were accepted, enrolled or started before you turned 21.5Sch 1B para 15A IS Regs If you turn 21 on your course, you continue to be eligible. In addition, you must:
    •be an orphan, and no one is acting in place of your parent; or
    •live away from your parents, or anyone acting in their place, because you are estranged from them; or
    •live away from your parents because there is a serious risk or danger to you; or
    •live away from your parents. They must be unable to support you financially and be sick or disabled, in prison or not allowed to enter Britain.
For more details, see the first four groups who are eligible for IS in relevant education listed on here.
 
1     Reg 4ZA(3) IS Regs »
2     Sch 1B para 1 IS Regs; s137 SSCBA 1992 »
3     Reg 4ZA(3)(c) IS Regs »
4     Sch 1B para 18 IS Regs »
5     Sch 1B para 15A IS Regs »
Under 19 in full-time advanced education
If you are under 19 and in full-time advanced education rather than in non-advanced education, the rules are the same as for those aged 19 or over. You count as a full-time student if you are ‘attending or undertaking a full-time course of advanced education’.1Reg 61(1), definition of ‘full-time student’, IS Regs What is or is not a full-time course is the same as for over-19-year-olds (see here). Only some students can get IS. The groups who can get IS are the same as for full-time students aged 19 or over (see here).
 
1     Reg 61(1), definition of ‘full-time student’, IS Regs »
Studying part time
Part-time students can get IS under the usual rules without restriction. You must satisfy all the basic rules (see here) and you must be in one of the groups of people who are eligible for IS. In brief, these are:
    •lone parents under age 18 (regardless of the child’s age) or lone parents with a child under five;
    •some young people up to age 25 on youth training schemes;
    •carers who get carer’s allowance or care for someone who gets attendance allowance, the middle or highest rate of the disability living allowance care component, or the daily living component of personal independence payment;
    •pregnant women from 11 weeks before to 15 weeks after the birth (or earlier if they are incapable of work because of pregnancy);
    •single foster parents of children under 16 or with a child placed for adoption, or people looking after a child while their partner is abroad or if the parents are temporarily ill, or away temporarily;
    •some people on unpaid paternity or parental leave;
    •people caring for a family member who is temporarily ill;
    •refugees on English courses in their first year in Britain;
    •people entitled to statutory sick pay;
    •people appealing against a decision that they are not incapable of work;
    •people who are incapable of work, but only if they already get incapacity benefit (IB);1Regs 1(4) and 2(1) ESA(TP) Regs
    •people who are registered or certified as blind, but only if they already get IB.
For more details of all the groups of people who are eligible for IS, see CPAG’s Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook.
 
1     Regs 1(4) and 2(1) ESA(TP) Regs »
What counts as part time
You are regarded as a part-time student if you are not a full-time student. If you are under 20 and in relevant education, see here for who counts as full time. If you are in advanced education at any age or you are 19 or over and in non-advanced education (and not a 19-year-old in relevant education), see here for who counts as full time.
If you are at an FE college studying a non-advanced course such as NQ up to Advanced Higher level, SVQ up to level 3 or National Certificate, the DWP may ask you for a learning agreement to show that the course is part time – ie, no more than 16 classroom hours, or 21 classroom plus structured study hours. Your college can provide you with this.
DWP guidance says that students on Open University courses are part time.1Vol 6, para 30132 DMG
Example
Betty is a carer for her disabled mother and has been getting IS on this basis for two years. She starts studying at college 12 hours a week towards a National Certificate. She continues to be eligible for IS.
 
1     Vol 6, para 30132 DMG »