Citation, commencement and application

1.-(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Education (Assisted Places) (Incidental Expenses) (Amendment) Regulations 1999, and shall come into force on 1st September 1999.

(2) These Regulations shall apply in relation to a school year beginning on or after the date mentioned in paragraph (1).

Amendment of the Education (Assisted Places) (Incidental Expenses) Regulations 1997

2.-(1) The Education (Assisted Places) (Incidental Expenses) Regulations 1997(2) shall be amended as follows.

(2) For regulation 2 there shall be substituted-�

"Grant for clothing expenditure

2.-(1) In this regulation-�

• "clothing expenditure", in relation to an assisted pupil, means expenditure which the school are satisfied-�

  (a)

  has been incurred by his parents, or

  (b)

  is about to be incurred by them but which they cannot, without financial hardship, incur in advance of the payment of grant,

  on items of uniform and other clothing (including sports clothing) to be worn by him either at school or for the purposes of school activities; and

• "uniform grant", in relation to an assisted pupil, means grant payable to his parents in respect of clothing expenditure.

(2) This regulation applies to an assisted pupil in relation to any school year where the relevant income does not exceed £11,466.

(3) Where this regulation applies to an assisted pupil in relation to any school year, the school shall pay uniform grant to his parents of an amount equal to so much of the clothing expenditure (disregarding expenditure in respect of which a previous grant has been paid) incurred in respect of that year as does not exceed-�

(a)£69 where the relevant income does not exceed £10,670; and

(b)£36 where that income exceeds £10,670 but does not exceed £11,466.".

(3) In regulation 4-�

(a)in paragraph (3), for "£10,427" there shall be substituted " £10,683"; and

(b)in paragraph (4)-�

(i)for "£10,427" there shall be substituted "£10,683", and

(ii)for "£10,248" there shall be substituted "£10,504".

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations further amend the Education (Assisted Places) (Incidental Expenses) Regulations 1997 ("the 1997 Regulations") in respect of a school year beginning on or after 1st September 1999. The 1997 Regulations provide for the payment of grants as regards incidental expenses, and for the remission of incidental expenses, in respect of pupils eligible to continue to hold assisted places by virtue of section 2 of the Education (Schools) Act 1997, notwithstanding the abolition of the assisted places scheme by section 1 of that Act.

Regulation 2 of the 1997 Regulations is substituted. The new regulation 2 relaxes the means test and increases the amount of grant payable for uniform grant in respect of clothing expenditure incurred in relation to the 1999/2000 and subsequent school years. It does not reproduce the provisions of the original regulation 2 under which uniform grant was payable during the 1997/98 school year at an enhanced rate for a pupil who first took up an assisted place in that year in respect of clothing expenditure incurred in that year.

The means test (set out in regulation 4 of the 1997 Regulations) for travel grant is relaxed and the amount of grant payable increased.