Sun 08-Jul-07 09:36 AM by Ruth_T

Our mature client was placed on a nursing course under the New Deal for Disabled People, but has been forced to withdraw after 15 months because her health deteriorated. She has now been refused IB because she failed the NI contribution tests.

Reg 7 of the Social Security (Credits) Regulations provides for people to receive NI credits while taking part in 'training approved by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this regulation'. I've searched in vain for a definition of approved training (the HMRC website provides a definition of approved training for young people, but NIM41220 gives no indication that there is an age limit for receipt of such training).

As an alternative we are also looking at a claim as a Welfare to Work Beneficiary.

Would a nursing course, with a bursary, count either as 'approved training' or as 'work' for the purposes of WtW?

There have now been 127 views of this post but nobody has yet offered any suggestions. Can anyone help, please?

Hi Ruth,

Have you checked out CPAG handbook page 259 bottom paragraph and top paragraph of page 260 "training for work and the linking rules i.e. return claimant to the rate of IB they received before the training course began.

Honestly don't know if this is a red herring but "training for work" refers to the Employment and Training Act 1973, "or one (a course) which you attend for 16 hours or more a week if the primary purpose of the training is teaching occupational or vocational skills".

see ya andy

Go on then, I'll have a go.

Nurse training now entirely a higher education function with bursaries and grants. Participants are students. Details here:
http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/details/Default.aspx?Id=125 or here:
http://www.nhspa.gov.uk/sgu

Most unlikely they would get NI credits. Possibly misleading in that the placement must have been arranged through NDDP but that doesn't make it 'approved training'. Don't think welfare to work would help either - nurse training isn't work, it's higher education (we tried an appeal on this trying to get WTC but lost).

On another tack though, why was your client's IB stopped? Taking the system at face value is student nurses are students, they are not in work or training and not excluded from IB. Might be worth querying this.

Richard Atkinson

Wed 18-Jul-07 12:05 PM by ken

(Edited to shorten link)

Hi Ruth,

IRO of the WTWB question, check this link to the Employment and Training Act 1973 (see reg 13A4 SS(IFW)regs definition of "remunerative work").

I was unable to find a definition of 'training allowance' but I would suggest that a bursary is a training allowance. A potential problem is that 'training allowance' in the definition could be read in two ways: it could mean a training allowance per se, in which case a bursary would definitely count; or it could mean a training allowance provided for under the E&T Act. For the latter, see s.2(3) of the E&T act, but I find it confusing. I favour the former interpretation, in which case the client would be a WTWB.

Unison's website mentions, "a return to employee status" for student nurses and midwives, indicating that being a student nurse might not count as 'work'. However, the definition of "reumerative work" to the IFW regs as a bit wooly and doesn't follow the usual definition - most noticeably there is no hours restriction. It could be argued that it is work, but it might be worth finding out when 'employee status' for student nurses ended becuase if was after your client started her course she might be OK.

IRO of the credits question, I couldn't find anything new except that the provision is intended to apply only to courses of one year or less, regardless of whether it was for a disabled person or not. The regulation suggests that at 7(2)(b) and it's also in the CPAG handbook page 742. Student nurses are usually on three year courses so this wouldn't apply.

Hope this helps,

Thanks to all contributors for your suggestions, which I am following up.

In answer to Richard's question: the DWP state the claim was closed on 2 October 2005 because "they were notified by the customer" that she wanted the claim closed. This was, of course, the day she began her nursing course. Client cannot remember doing any such thing, so I am now trying to extract details as to who/how the claim was closed.