Last week I asked a question in the Lords on the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA). The DSA allows those with a disability, a long term health condition, or dyslexia (like myself) an equal shot at higher education. The support people receive through this allowance can be vital in ensuring a student’s chances of academic success aren’t dictated by their disability or health, but by their effort and ability.
Like all areas of Government spending, the DSA is being examined for potential savings and to make sure money is going where it is needed most. However, my question in the Lords was inspired by the amount of confusion there is within all the groups involved in the DSA, ranging from suppliers to students, over what exactly is going to be in place once these reforms go through.
At the moment there is a great deal of fear mongering about not having sufficient resources to enable people to be able to complete their course, let alone work independently as you’re supposed to in higher education. Any change that does not embrace this principle is effectively excluding certain groups unnecessarily.
Last year, Julian Huppert hosted a debate on the reforms in the Commons. He perfectly summed up the issue at hand “we are united by a belief that everybody, regardless of who they are, should be able to aspire to go to university. Regardless of disability, whether it is physical or mental, visible or invisible, there should not be a barrier as a result of it.” The debate revealed all party support around concerns related to the proposed reform, reflecting the general issues raised about this matter. I feel that this shows that the DSA reform should be debated in the open before the general election.
Early on, when potential reform was being consulted on, the idea of not funding computers ‘because everyone has one’ clearly displayed a total lack of knowledge of the type of computing power that is required for a fairly standard bits of assistive technology. Voice recognition technology needs a fairly powerful and good computer to work properly and it doesn’t go terribly well with the second-hand PC somebody has been given by their uncle (which may have been pretty good 5 years ago but doesn’t quite cut it today) no matter who plays with it.
If people have got to university and underachieve or fail because they’re not given, by modern standards, pretty basic support, there isn’t much point in sending them there in the first place. I hope we’re not going to write off a percentage of the population, losing their economic input and creating more of a drag on the rest of society.
Review and reform of the scheme is probably overdue as it was created in the early 1990s and there have been considerable advances in awareness and recognition of disabilities training techniques and assistive technology in that time but it should be underpinned by a principle, that of a fairer education system for all giving those with disabilities and equal shot at life, and not seen purely as a cost-cutting exercise.
* Lord Addington is a member of the House of Lords and vice president of the British Dyslexia Association
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4 Comments
I can say nothing but to agree with every word. There should be no question of limiting funds to support students with particular needs. I do not like the name of the scheme though – the Disabled Students Allowance sounds very Victorian and outdated. We need to change the way we speak about perceived differences. (I said I would stop posting on LDV a few days ago, but I cannot resist – I’m back!)
Good to see Lib Dems standing up for the rights of disabled people. Anything that we can do to tackle the climate of fear around benefit changes as well as the more unwelcome changes themselves is vital.
The ‘fear mongering’ that disabled people felt after 2010 was true and some was worse, how the LibDem front bench cheered and voted for the attacks on the disabled, sick and poor. I doubt there will be a good outcome for disabled students either and no doubt any cuts will be supported by the LibDems as vociferously as all the other benefit cuts.
Meanwhile, the present government is continuing its onslaught against those too ill to work, by tightening criteria, medical assessments that even dead people couldn’t pass, and all-round general nastiness.