Asked by: Richard Quigley (Labour - Isle of Wight West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) removing spelling and grammar software from Disabled Students’ Allowances funding and (b) the impact of reaching a decision on this prior to the conclusion of a consultation, on students receiving this allowance.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department engaged with disability experts who support disabled students to gather feedback on the removal of non-specialist spelling and grammar software from Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) funding, in advance of a decision being taken. The decision followed a detailed review which found that free-to-access versions now offer the required spelling and grammar support functionality to meet students’ disability-related needs.
DSA will continue to fund spelling and grammar software in exceptional circumstances where there is a specific disability-related need that cannot be met by the functionality and software already available to a student, to ensure that a student in this position will still be able to access the required software through DSA funding. The equality impact assessment is attached to this response.
Asked by: Richard Quigley (Labour - Isle of Wight West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she made of whether there were adequate exceptional circumstances as a mitigating measure for the removal of spelling and grammar software from Disabled Students’ Allowances.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department engaged with disability experts who support disabled students to gather feedback on the removal of non-specialist spelling and grammar software from Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) funding, in advance of a decision being taken. The decision followed a detailed review which found that free-to-access versions now offer the required spelling and grammar support functionality to meet students’ disability-related needs.
DSA will continue to fund spelling and grammar software in exceptional circumstances where there is a specific disability-related need that cannot be met by the functionality and software already available to a student, to ensure that a student in this position will still be able to access the required software through DSA funding. The equality impact assessment is attached to this response.
Asked by: Richard Quigley (Labour - Isle of Wight West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take legislative steps to allow people over 18 to be formally adopted by their families.
Answered by Janet Daby
The adoption of a child is about ensuring that a child has a permanent family, with the adopter taking legal and parental responsibility for them. At the age of 18, parental responsibility is no longer relevant, as an adult assumes responsibility for themselves. Introducing adoption for over 18s is not a priority as there is no legal imperative to introduce adult adoption. Legal processes, such as the making of a will, already enable individuals to pass on inheritance or financial rights without adoption being necessary. Similarly, the ability to legally change names through deed poll means that adoption is not the only way to share a family name.