As a member of the Women and Equalities Select Committee. I believe that all those who have the potential to benefit from higher education should be able to do so – regardless of physical ability or background. I assure you that the Government is committed to ensuring disabled students are able to develop their talents in higher education.
As part of the changes made to DSA, Higher Education (HE) providers will be expected to play an increasing role in supporting all disabled students and to take primary responsibility in a number of areas. The Government believes it is important that HE providers are meeting their responsibilities towards disabled students under the Equality Act, and HE providers are often best placed to consider how to respond to their students, including giving greater consideration to the delivery of their courses and how to provide support.
The Government's intention is that DSAs will remain available to support those disabled students who require additional help, but should complement the support put in place by HE providers to help all disabled students. Some reforms have already been implemented, with changes made to the funding of computer equipment from the academic year 2015-16. Institutions are required to adapt their accommodation to meet the needs of their disabled students, and the changes to DSAs make it clear that they should no longer pass the cost of those adaptations to the student. Certain forms of capturing notes will also become the responsibility of the institution, however a range of specialist note-taking functions remain with DSAs, including electronic note-taking for deaf students.
These changes will ensure that the limited public funding available for DSAs is targeted in the best way and to achieve value for money, while ensuring that disabled students continue to get the help they require. They will also ensure that HE institutions play their role in supporting students as part of their duties to provide reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act.