Student Bursaries - Classed as income?

masternails

Does anyone know if a NHS student Bursary is classed as income? I have always worked and my last job was a temp role which ended in July. Having applied for roughly 70 jobs and having no luck I had no option but to claim JSA. I have been offered a place at Uni on a part-time course which is a NHS course so they pay the course tuition fee's. They also award a Bursary which is calculated on your household income. I am still trying to find employment and am desperate to work, however if by the time my course starts I still have not secured employment I will still be on JSA. The course is 12 hours a week. I have asked at the JobCentre how this would affect my benefit and who elements they take into account as I do not want to start a course if I will lose JSA. I would rather not start it at all. They have said that I need to provide my Learning Agreement once I start and then they will access it. So they have ignored my predicament. No-one in the Jobcentre could answer my question. How are people supposed to plan if they don't help. I would rather work than claim, no question about that, but I do not want to start a course I really want to do if I then am going to get told I will lose my JSA. Help. I get Income Based JSA not Cont Based

Naf

I know what Tax Credits and Housing Benefit class as income (am off to uni in Oct myself, so did all the research), and it seems reasonable that JSA would apply the same criteria.
Essentially, if the bursary is for 'course costs' then it gets disregarded for HB/TC income calculation purposes.

LittleVoice

masternails wrote: »

Does anyone know if a NHS student Bursary is classed as income? I have always worked and my last job was a temp role which ended in July. Having applied for roughly 70 jobs and having no luck I had no option but to claim JSA. I have been offered a place at Uni on a part-time course which is a NHS course so they pay the course tuition fee's. They also award a Bursary which is calculated on your household income. I am still trying to find employment and am desperate to work, however if by the time my course starts I still have not secured employment I will still be on JSA. The course is 12 hours a week. I have asked at the JobCentre how this would affect my benefit and who elements they take into account as I do not want to start a course if I will lose JSA. I would rather not start it at all. They have said that I need to provide my Learning Agreement once I start and then they will access it. So they have ignored my predicament. No-one in the Jobcentre could answer my question. How are people supposed to plan if they don't help. I would rather work than claim, no question about that, but I do not want to start a course I really want to do if I then am going to get told I will lose my JSA. Help. I get Income Based JSA not Cont Based

The statement "as I do not want to start a course if I will lose JSA" seems to indicate a very short-term view of what the benefit of the course might be. If you wouldn't want to do the course if you lost JSA (even though you will be getting a bursary), then do you really want to do the course?

masternails

I do want to do the course. The Bursary does not cover my rent and as I am a single parent I need to know I will be able to pay all my bills. I am trying to find a job, but in the short term if I am unable to do this before I start Uni I would need to know that I would still get JSA. Believe me claiming is the last thing I want to be doing but if I have no employment in place it would be my only income really and the need to know before I start my course if it will be affected i don't think is too much to ask.

LL30

I am about to receive an NHS bursary for a 2 year MA in Social Work.

TCs don't count it as income. HB and CTB will count some of it, but not all. Ring your council to go through the calculation with you. At my uni, they have a dept which specialises in working out your benefits alongside any bursary/ loan, so you could try them too. I'm a lone parent too - have you applied for the dependants part also? Good luck xx

masternails

Hi Thanks for that. I have spoken to HB and Council Tax dept and am aware they take some into account. Its the Jobcentre really who don't seem to understand I need to know before I start the course if I would not get JSA. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to be on JSA, I just need to know that until I get a job ( I am applying for every kind of job I can) I will still get the JSA. I will ask at the Uni though. I feel let down that they can't see that the decision they give will decide whether I study or not. I don't want to give up and just get a full time job instead, I want to go to Uni and work part time, but they make it very hard for people

LL30

Have you considered doing it fulltime? Is it an option? I'm doing mine full time, and I'm shocked by what I'm being given, it seems very wrong! I get £7.5 in bursary, £7k towards nursery fees (85%) of, no rent to pay (!!), CTC £60 a week, CB £20.80 a week and £20.55 DLA a week (unfortunately!). It works out that I'll have approx £250 a week to live off, so no need for working (which is a good job considering the course) but I'm shocked all the same. Definitely try your Uni and see if they have a similar dept, they were so very helpful when I was trying to work it all out xx

masternails

Thanks for this. I did consider doing the course full time , but the course was full. I don't want to put off doing it for another year. As a part time student i am not entitled to claim Maintenance Grants or Loans, and as it is an NHS course I do not need any student finance as the NHS pay all course fee's and give the bursary. It's just frustrating as I want to work around the course and am trying desperately to get a job, any job so I can stop claiming benefit but just need the clarification of whether JSA would be affected and if so how? I am going to go to the Uni and ask there though.

anamenottaken

masternails wrote: »

I have asked at the JobCentre how this would affect my benefit

So you didn't come across this when you used to process JSA. Perhaps there is a decision makers handbook or something similar available on line which would help.

LL30

Definitely get talking to the Uni, I'm really surprised you can't access any of the normal student finance - is it undergrad? I thought even part timers could get the loans etc just at a reduced rate to reflect the PT. But it all changes so much it's hard to keep track! I can't get anything from student finance as I'm postgrad (already got £14K of debt with them anyway, and let's be honest, I don't need any more money coming in!)

In terms of JSA, I suspect that if you are getting more weekly than you would on JSA, then you won't get any money, but may still be able to sign on for your credits. if it's less, they'll top it up to that amount? I'm just thinking about what they do if you work less than 16 hours, so it's just a bit of a guess - sorry, probably not much help!! Hope you have some luck with it all - if needs must, maybe holding out a year is the best way forward so you can do it full time?

masternails

I only processed claims. I wasn't a Decision Maker. I have tried to look on the internet but there is nothing. Even the Advisors in Jobcentre cannot give an answer. They just say to provide a Learning Agreement when I start and then it will be looked at. If they are Advisors and they don't know the answer then its not good and really what is their role?