Dear colleagues,
We are writing to update you on our services in light of the COVID-19 developments and following on from our email earlier this week. We have full contingency plans in place to deal with these unsettled times. Our immediate priority is to ensure all students expecting imminent payments will receive these on time. We have set out some updated processes for each work stream below for your information.
General updates
We have placed a statement on our website and social media channels to advise we have received confirmation from the Department of Health and Social Care that all NHS Bursary, Social Work Bursary and Learning Support Fund payments will continue to be paid as normal during the period of school and university closures. Eligible students should continue to apply for payments as normal.
NHS Bursaries
Practice Placement Expenses: as many universities are now closed and staff working from home, plus students in isolation, we have revised the process for placement expenses. We are asking students to complete their claim forms online and then email this, together with the required evidence, to the relevant email address at university. The university will then need to complete a spreadsheet with summary details and then send it to a dedicated email address. We are working on getting this set up and will send out a separate communication with this as soon as we have them. We will treat this as approved by the university as long as it comes from an ac.uk email address. We will be accepting claims for Uber/taxi journeys at this time where public transport is not available.
Travel cards/season tickets: following our guidance regarding payment of cancelled accommodation due to the current COVID-19, this is extended to payment of travel cards/season tickets. Please add this to the spreadsheet in the relevant section. Claims will be dealt with on a case by case basis.
Learning Support Fund
Travel and Dual Accommodation Expenses: the process for TDAE will mirror the PPE process. We are asking students to complete their claim forms online and then email that together with the required evidence to the relevant email address at university. The university will then need to complete a spreadsheet with summary details and then send it to a dedicated email address. We are working on getting this set up and will send out a separate communication with this as soon as we have them. We will treat this as approved by the university as long as it comes from an ac.uk email address. We will be accepting claims for Uber/taxi journeys during this time where public transport is unavailable..
Travel cards/season tickets: following our guidance regarding payment of cancelled accommodation due to the current COVID-19, this is extended to payment of travel cards/season tickets. Please add this to the spreadsheet in the relevant section. Claims will be dealt with on a case by case basis.
Child Dependants Allowance: students who are expecting their Term 3 payment for CDA on 5 May will receive this on time. We are releasing the holds on these payments and for this student group we won’t be asking you to confirm attendance.
Exceptional Support Fund: students who wish to make an ESF claim should complete the claim form online then email this, together with any required evidence, to their relevant university contact. The university will then email this form to a dedicated email address (we are currently setting this up and will send this out in a separate email). We will treat this as approved by the university as long as it comes from an ac.uk email address.
Social Work Bursaries
The application window for the 2020/21 academic year is currently open for new and continuing students. As students in this group are due to be paid in September, we are currently pausing the processing of SWB application forms while we focus on the imminent payments due to take place.
Childcare reconciliation: We will be paying all childcare payments and will review the reconciliation process for those paid at a later date. More information will follow when we have it.
Please be assured we are dedicated to continuing to provide the best service we can under these difficult and unprecedented circumstances. We appreciate your understanding and support during these times. If you have any specific questions please contact us.
Kind regards,
NHSBSA Student Services
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