Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Oral Answer of the Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation to the hon. Member for Battersea of 14 May 2018, Official Report, column 15, what costs Disabled Students' Allowances are planned to cover.

Disabled Students’ Allowances are available to help students with the additional costs they may face in higher education because of their disability.

There are four allowances available and for 2017/18 these are: a specialist equipment allowance of up to £5,358 for the duration of the course, a non-medical helper allowance of up to £21,305 for each academic year, a general allowance of up to £1,790 for each academic year and a uncapped travel allowance for each academic year. They can be used for the purchase of specialist equipment, to pay for a non-medical helper to support students with their studies, for other assessed disability related costs and for travel. The website https://www.gov.uk/disabled-students-allowances-dsas has details of the allowances for 2017 to 2018 and 2018 to 2019.

As noted in the Oral Answer, the £200 student contribution is for computer hardware only. Students are not expected to pay for recommended specialist software or for training to use it.