CSLM004 - Glossary of terms

Glossary of terms

Attachable earnings

The amount of earnings available, from which Court Order deductions are made. This will not normally be the same as gross pay.

This amount is not used for calculating Postgraduate Loans and Student Loan deductions but may be relevant if

  • There is a protected level of earnings stipulated in a Court Order (below which no deductions can be made), and
  • The balance between the net attachable earnings, (attachable earnings less Court Order deductions) and the protected level of earnings is less than the Postgraduate Loan or Student Loan deductions.

Balancing payment

A balancing payment is the total amount of liability from the SA return less any payments already made.

The balancing payment

  • Can include the balance of any unpaid payments on account, but
  • Does not include any interest or penalties.

Data Protection Officers

Data Protection Officers (DPOs) have been appointed for each office throughout the Department to ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act within their area. See the Data Protection Act website for more information.

The DPOs are responsible for ensuring

  • Systems are covered by one or more of the Department’s registrations
  • That subject access enquiries are dealt with correctly and expeditiously within their area

They are the first points of contact for the Data Protection SAR Unit on all DPA matters within their office.

Data Protection Unit

The Data Protection Unit (DPU) is responsible for all the administrative aspects of operating the Data Protection Act (DPA) within the Department. This includes

  • Making of registrations
  • Control of subject access enquiries
  • Supply of information
  • Handling of any disputes
  • Liaison with the Data Registrar’s Office on all DPA matters

Further information about registration procedures and subject access enquiries can be obtained from

Data Protection SAR Unit
Room BP5001
Dunstanburgh House
Benton Park View
Longbenton
Newcastle Under Tyne
NE98 1ZZ

Telephone: 0191 225 7575

Fax: 0191 225 3098


NINO

Each National Insurance contributor is allocated a unique reference, a National Insurance number (NINO), by the National Insurance Contributions Office (NICO).

A NINO consists of two letters then six numerals then one letter.

For example AB123456C

 Processing office

The Processing Office is responsible for

  • The PAYE taxpayer and employer records
  • General maintenance of the SA record
  • Day to day work
  • Processing of the returns
  • Certain aspects of compliance work
  • Customer education and support.

Protected earnings level

The level of protected earnings is the amount of the taxpayer’s earnings that must be available to the taxpayer after deduction of Court Orders. This will be specified in the order.

The protected level of earnings also applies to Postgradaute Loan and or Student Loan deductions if

  • There is also a priority Court Order in force against the borrower, and
  • The Court Order specifies a protected level of earnings.

In this case the total deductions, (Court Order(s) plus Postgraduate Loans and or Student Loan deductions), must not reduce the net income below the protected level of earnings.

If there are several priority Court Orders against the same borrower it is possible that there will be more than one level of protected earnings. For calculating Postgradaute Loans and or Student Loan deductions, use the most recent level of protected earnings.

Rate

The rate is a percentage which must be applied to income in excess of the threshold to compute the amount of Student and or Postgraduate Loan repayments.

The rate is stipulated in The Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) Regulations 2009.

The rate for calculating student loan repayments from 6 April 2000 is 9 per cent of income in excess of the threshold.

The rate for calculating Postgraduate Loan repayment from 6 April 2019 is 6 per cent of income in excess of the threshold.

Start notices

A Start Notice (form SL1 and PGL1) is a computer generated form that is automatically sent to an employer when either

  • A successful match is achieved between the Students Loan Company record of borrowers and the HMRC PAYE computers, or
  • A form P45 relating to a borrower is processed by HMRC and has no entry in the Student Loans box

The Start Notice instructs the employer to start making Student Loan and or Postgraduate Loan deductions from the first available pay day after the Student Loan and or Postgraduate Loan deduction start date shown on the notice.

Start Notices are not issued annually in respect of the same borrower. The instructions in the Start Notice continue to apply until the loan is repaid or otherwise cancelled.

Stop notices

A Stop Notice (form SL2 and PGL2) is a computer generated form that is automatically sent to an employer when either

  • The Student Loans Company estimate that a loan is about to be repaid, or
  • The loan is to be cancelled or Student Loan and or Postgradaute Loan deductions are to cease for some other reason

The Stop Notice instructs the employer to stop making Student Loan and or Postgraduate Loan deductions on the first available pay day after the Student Loan and or Postgrauate Loan deduction stop date shown on the Notice.

There is no clerical version of the Stop Notice and stocks are not supplied to local offices.

Student loan customer reference number

This is the number by which the borrower is identified by the Student Loans Company.

The number is made up of 13 numeric characters.

Note: HMRC does not have access to this information. 

Subject access enquiries

Data subjects are individuals for whom information is recorded on computer, or on clerical records. Subject access enquiries are applications from individuals for details of the information about themselves that is held by HMRC.

Switched on

Borrowers within SA are only required to make Student and or Postgraduate Loan repayment under SA if they have been notified (switched on) by the Secretary of State for Department for Education (DfE). The Student Loans Company issues notices to borrowers, and the Board of HMRC, on behalf of the Secretary of State.

The notice specifies the first year of assessment for which repayment is due, and applies to all subsequent years of assessment unless the Secretary of State has switched off the borrower by notifying the first year that repayment ceases under SA.

Switched off

The Secretary of State for Department for Education (DfE) will notify the borrower the first year that repayment ceases under SA. The Student Loans Company issues notices to borrowers, and the Board of Inland Revenue, on behalf of the Secretary of State.

A notice will be issued where any of the following apply

  • The loan has been repaid in full
  • Sufficient deductions to repay the loan will be made by the specified date
  • The loan has been cancelled

Borrowers within SA will cease to make payments when they are switched off and notified.

Technical office

Responsibility for SA records is allocated by work activity type. The Technical Office is responsible for

  • Enquiry / investigation work
  • Compliance work
  • Other accounts related matters
  • Technical queries.

Threshold

The threshold is the amount above which Student Loan and or Postgradaute Loan repayments should be paid.

The Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) Regulations 2009 refer to an annual threshold and explain what income must be taken into account to determine whether the threshold is exceeded.

Employers making Student Loan and or Postgraduate Loan deductions will apply the proportion of the threshold appropriate to the pay period in calculating the amount of Student Loan and or Postgraduate Loan repayments to deduct.

Unique taxpayer reference

A Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) is a unique set of 10 numerals allocated automatically by the computer when a taxpayer is set up on SA.