Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what she is taking to ensure that her Department’s consultation on funding for assistive software through Disabled Students’ Allowance is informed by the experiences of disabled students; what steps she is taking to ensure the consultation adequately considers the potential impact of the proposals on disabled students’ access to higher education; how he will ensure will sufficient opportunity for engagement with disabled students and sector stakeholders; how she will ensure the consultation reflects the individual support needs of disabled students; and what steps she will take to ensure that decisions arising from the consultation are based on evidence of the effectiveness of specialist assistive technology.

The department’s consultation will enable disabled students and sector stakeholders to provide detailed feedback on our proposals. In addition, the department is undertaking a survey of students who are currently in receipt of Disabled Students’ Allowance to ensure that their thoughts and experiences are taken into account.

The department recognises the importance of understanding the effectiveness of specialist assistive technology and is using the consultation to gather further evidence and input in this area.

The consultation remains open until 18 June, and all feedback received will be carefully considered before any final decisions are taken.