Question

To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to ensure that disabled students do not suffer discrimination as a result of the proposed changes to the Disabled Students' Allowance, due to Higher Education Institutions failing to make the necessary changes to courses to accommodate their needs.

Higher education institutions are independent and autonomous organisations and are already subject to the strong legal requirements in the Equality Act 2010. They have clear duties to ensure that disabled students do not face discrimination whilst applying to, and studying in higher education. Where an individual believes they have been discriminated against and a dispute occurs, there are already well established processes in place for raising a formal complaint, initially through the university's internal complaints procedure and then, if unresolved after completing that process, the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA).