Student loan
A student loan includes:
•the maximum loan for living costs for which you are eligible, including any means-tested element (where applicable). This is taken into account as your income whether or not you apply for it. The government believes that it is the primary source of public support to students and, therefore, should be fully exhausted before further support is given;
•any payments for extra weeks’ attendance.
The NHS Business Services Authority disregards £693 for books, travel and equipment from the annual student loan.
Any special support element should be disregarded in the same way as for income support (IS). Thirty per cent of the maximum postgraduate loan for master’s or doctoral courses to which you are entitled is taken into account, but the remainder is disregarded.
Note: at the time of writing, regulations had not been laid to clarify the treatment of the new undergraduate loans for living costs for part-time students in England, and whether there would be any changes arising from the newest funding arrangements for undergraduates in Wales. However, in practice, part-time living costs loans for part-time students are treated in the same way as loans for full-time students, with the special support element disregarded and the loan then taken into account according to the usual rules. See CPAG’s Welfare Rights Bulletin for updates.