Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to make assisted technology more affordable and accessible for disabled students.

We recognise that there is increasing pressure on high needs budgets, and funding is rising to meet this. High needs funding has risen from £5 billion in 2013 to £6 billion this year, the highest level on record. In 2018-19, Dudley will receive £30.5 million in high needs funding. A full list of allocations is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2018-to-2019.

We are working with the British Educational Suppliers Association on a ‘lending library’ designed to support schools to make decisions about technology. Once live, the library will have an area focussed on assistive technologies.