Asked by Lord Addington To ask Her Majesty’s Government,
further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for
Universities, Science, Research and Innovation on 16 April
(HC135033), what assessment they have made of the extent to which
the £200 equipment contribution for those claiming disabled
students allowances had a direct effect on reducing the number of
students receiving such...Request free
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Asked by
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To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written
Answer by the Minister of State for Universities, Science,
Research and Innovation on 16 April (HC135033), what
assessment they have made of the extent to which the £200
equipment contribution for those claiming disabled students
allowances had a direct effect on reducing the number of
students receiving such allowances by 4,600 between 2014–15
and 2015–16.
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(LD)
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my
name on the Order Paper and draw the attention of the House
to my declared interest in Microlink PC.
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(Con)
My Lords, computers are a mainstream cost for all students,
disabled or not. We expected a fall in take-up with the
introduction of a £200 student contribution to the cost of
the computer hardware, as DSA no longer funds standard
computers and students may be satisfied with their existing
equipment. Support continues to be available where an extra
need is assessed, so as to ensure that disabled students
and non-disabled students are treated equally.
-
I thank the Minister for his Answer. However, student
numbers are rising, and the number of people claiming the
DSA is falling. Is there some explanation other than that
disabled people are not claiming it? I draw the House’s
attention to the fact that people are getting the
assessment and then stopping going through the process.
What, other than a financial disincentive, can be working
here?
-
One reason has been proved to be that at least
three-quarters of students now have their own computers.
The DSA is there to help disabled students with the
additional costs they may face in higher education because
of their disability. We introduced the £200 student
contribution because computer ownership is so high.
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(Lab)
My Lords, having seen the negative impact which the
imposition of the £200 charge has had on students in
England, the Welsh Government have decided against it. They
take the view that helping disabled students prepare for
their studies is a good thing. No matter how the Government
present their case, they are still imposing a tax on being
disabled. Why not think again?
-
The Welsh Government are entitled to do what they like.
However, I say again that the mainstream costs should be
covered by disabled and non-disabled students. When it was
introduced, 23,400 disabled students claimed for
DSA-recommended equipment and software, and the expenditure
was £20.4 million. But the main point is that the equipment
expenditure of disabled students averaged £870, so we think
that the £200 first cost is reasonable.
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(LD)
My Lords, the £200 levy will obviously mainly disadvantage
those on very low incomes. Have the Government given any
thought to adding this £200 levy to the student loan, which
might be a more acceptable way for them to pay than to try
to find the £200 upfront?
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The noble Baroness will know that all eligible students can
access maintenance loans, and we believe that it is
reasonable for any student to purchase a standard computer
through that support. However, some universities provide
additional help to students from low-income backgrounds,
and some DSA equipment providers allow students to spread
the cost.
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(Lab)
My Lords, the Government’s stated aim, which is laudable,
is to widen access to our universities. They have taken a
measure which has clearly had an impact in reducing the
number of disabled students in terms of the reduction of
4,600. Why do they not just reverse the policy?
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The reason is because we believe that it is entirely
reasonable to allow the first £200 to be spent by the
student. In addition, for non-disabled students, full-time
students spent an average of £253 on computers, and
part-time students spent an average of £243. So again, it
is a reasonable argument to ask for the £200 to be paid.
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My Lords, could the Minister give some thought to the fact
that your standard second-hand home computer is not powerful
enough to run most of the software that is required by this
group? If that is not taken into account, how can the Answer
be relevant?
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The answer to that question is that if some extra assistive
software equipment is required, it will be funded through the
DSAs. The point is that we are talking about the basic cost
of £200. I also point out to the House that we have
commissioned a research project to explore the impact of DSAs
on eligible students, including that of recent DSA reforms,
and we will report in the summer.
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