Yes and similar for child benefit too - impoverished mothe or father but rich new live in partner equals no child bnefit even if the new partner doesn't give you a penny. My divorce course order says I pay the universiy costs no matter who the children live with. Check yours in case your ex husband has a similar clause and obligation.
Also on divorce a step partner who has paid towards a a step child - child of amily - not even biological child - has obligatios - eg one man I know was paying £30k per year for 2 step children to board at Millfield school. Because he was kind and his wife had never done a day's work in her life on the divorce he had to carry on paying the £60k a year.
[I pay my twins' student fees of £9250 x 2 a year and their rent x 2 and an allowance at university so save the taxpayer a small fortune, given most students never pay the full loan back, and I think the state should allow all that to be tax deductible as I am saving the state a lot of money by doing that and working full time to fund it etc however I won't hold my breath]
It may be worth checking divorce law as I had a vague feeling that if parents are divorced the non resident parent could be obliged to contribute.
yes I have looked it up - it is the last bit of this below that I meant - right of the child - not the parent - to apply to the non resident parent for money:
www.family-lawfirm.co.uk/blog/parents-university-fees-and-child-maintenance/
"Generally, in cases where separated spouses cannot reach an agreement about finances the court can only approve a child maintenance agreement rather than impose a child maintenance order. If a child is at university they do not qualify for maintenance through the Child Maintenance Service and as a general rule the court will not make an order to support them.
There is an important exception however. If a child is over 18 and ‘receiving instruction at an educational establishment or undergoing training for a trade, profession or vocation, whether or not he is also, or will also be, in gainful employment’ one parent can seek an order from their spouse for provision to be made in a court order to pay towards university fees. In reality, this means your child could be working full-time as well as studying and you could still be expected to support your child’s education. The court still needs to take into consideration the various factors required by law before making an order to pay university fees but it is still worth remembering.
There is another option available to children who may be worried about funding university fees if their parents aren’t prepared to help. A child over 18 years can make an application for financial support if they are in education as detailed above. This is covered by Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989, there are very similar considerations that the court must take into account but this is a claim that could be made against either or both parents."