Lord Addington
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation on 16 April (HC135033), what assessment they have made of the extent to which the £200 equipment contribution for those claiming disabled students allowances had a direct effect on reducing the number of students receiving such allowances by 4,600 between 2014–15 and 2015–16.
Lord Addington (LD)
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper and draw the attention of the House to my declared interest in Microlink PC.
Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
My Lords, computers are a mainstream cost for all students, disabled or not. We expected a fall in take-up with the introduction of a £200 student contribution to the cost of the computer hardware, as DSA no longer funds standard computers and students may be satisfied with their existing equipment. Support continues to be available where an extra need is assessed, so as to ensure that disabled students and non-disabled students are treated equally.
Lord Addington
I thank the Minister for his Answer. However, student numbers are rising, and the number of people claiming the DSA is falling. Is there some explanation other than that disabled people are not claiming it? I draw the House’s attention to the fact that people are getting the assessment and then stopping going through the process. What, other than a financial disincentive, can be working here?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
One reason has been proved to be that at least three-quarters of students now have their own computers. The DSA is there to help disabled students with the additional costs they may face in higher education because of their disability. We introduced the £200 student contribution because computer ownership is so high.
Lord Touhig (Lab)
My Lords, having seen the negative impact which the imposition of the £200 charge has had on students in England, the Welsh Government have decided against it. They take the view that helping disabled students prepare for their studies is a good thing. No matter how the Government present their case, they are still imposing a tax on being disabled. Why not think again?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
The Welsh Government are entitled to do what they like. However, I say again that the mainstream costs should be covered by disabled and non-disabled students. When it was introduced, 23,400 disabled students claimed for DSA-recommended equipment and software, and the expenditure was £20.4 million. But the main point is that the equipment expenditure of disabled students averaged £870, so we think that the £200 first cost is reasonable.
Baroness Garden of Frognal (LD)
My Lords, the £200 levy will obviously mainly disadvantage those on very low incomes. Have the Government given any thought to adding this £200 levy to the student loan, which might be a more acceptable way for them to pay than to try to find the £200 upfront?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
The noble Baroness will know that all eligible students can access maintenance loans, and we believe that it is reasonable for any student to purchase a standard computer through that support. However, some universities provide additional help to students from low-income backgrounds, and some DSA equipment providers allow students to spread the cost.
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)
My Lords, the Government’s stated aim, which is laudable, is to widen access to our universities. They have taken a measure which has clearly had an impact in reducing the number of disabled students in terms of the reduction of 4,600. Why do they not just reverse the policy?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
The reason is because we believe that it is entirely reasonable to allow the first £200 to be spent by the student. In addition, for non-disabled students, full-time students spent an average of £253 on computers, and part-time students spent an average of £243. So again, it is a reasonable argument to ask for the £200 to be paid.
Lord Addington
My Lords, could the Minister give some thought to the fact that your standard second-hand home computer is not powerful enough to run most of the software that is required by this group? If that is not taken into account, how can the Answer be relevant?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
The answer to that question is that if some extra assistive software equipment is required, it will be funded through the DSAs. The point is that we are talking about the basic cost of £200. I also point out to the House that we have commissioned a research project to explore the impact of DSAs on eligible students, including that of recent DSA reforms, and we will report in the summer.