Part time student - can we get council tax rebate?

gillyrah

My husband is a part time student osteopath. We've got a baby and are now struggling to pay his fees and have asked for help at University. They said that some people on his course have got council tax rebates. They can't issue a council tax exemption certificate as the course is officially part time (it takes 5 years instead of 4). However, they have written a letter stating that the course involves more than 21 hours per week of lectures, study time and clinic (work experience). Over the telephone, council tax said this would be fine and they'd be able to backdate the 25% discount. 3 months after applying, they've written to say he is not a full time student so the discount can't be applied.

Can anyone help? He works part time employed, part-time self employed, does his uni hours and only gets one day off a fortnight, so no extra time to work. I'm on maternity leave and when I return to work my wages will be spent on childcare (not much tax credits to help) so we were really counting on this source of income to pay September's fees!

CIS

Council Tax discounts only apply to full time students - technically he does meet the criteria as a full time student and the council should accept it if the uni will certify it as such.

You need to psuh the issue with the council and quote the defintion given below :


The Council Tax (Discount Disregards) Order 1992

A person is to be regarded as undertaking a full time course of education on a particular day if—
(a)on the day he is enrolled for the purpose of attending such a course with a prescribed educational establishment within Part I of Schedule 2 to this Order, and
(b)the day falls within the relevant period for that course.4.—
(1) A full-time course of education is, subject to subparagraphs (2) and (3), one—
(a)which subsists for at least one academic year of the educational establishment concerned or, in the case of an educational establishment which does not have academic years, for at least one calendar year;
(b)which persons undertaking it are normally required by the educational establishment concerned to attend (whether at premises of the establishment or otherwise) for periods of at least 24 weeks in each academic or calendar year (as the case may be) during which it subsists, and
(c)the nature of which is such that a person undertaking it would normally require to undertake periods of study, tuition or work experience which together amount in each such academic or calendar year to an average of at least 21 hours a week during the periods of attendance mentioned in paragraph (b) above in the year.