Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she had discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions prior to its decision to withdraw funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software for university students receiving the Disabled Students' Allowance.

This change is entirely within the remit of the department. My right hon. Friends. the Secretary of State for Education and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions therefore did not meet to discuss this matter prior to the decision being made. The department has made the decision to remove non-specialist spelling and grammar software from Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) funding on the grounds that there are now free-to-access versions available with the required functionality to meet students’ disability-related support needs. It is therefore not an effective use of public money to continue to fund this type of software through DSA.