Disabled Students' Allowances: Coronavirus

(asked on 20th April 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of suspending the requirement for disabled students to contribute £200 towards the purchase of assistive technology through the disabled students’ allowance during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Michelle Donelan Portrait
Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
This question was answered on 27th April 2020

Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) provide for the additional costs that disabled students may face in higher education because of their disability. A basic computer is a mainstream cost of study and students are therefore expected to make a £200 contribution towards the cost of any computer recommended as part of their needs assessment. The contribution is for computer hardware only; students are not expected to fund recommended specialist software or training in how to use it.

There are currently no plans to suspend the requirement for disabled students to contribute £200 towards the purchase of a computer.

The department has not received any representations from disabled students on access to assistive technology through DSA support in relation to the economic effect of the Covid-19 outbreak.

It is too early to assess the effect of the Covid-19 outbreak on the employment opportunities for disabled students.

These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

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