Disabled Students’ Allowances: giving students the technology they need to succeed

The increasing number of disabled people reaching university is a major step forward for inclusion and social mobility. More disabled people rightly see university as an option for them and the growing culture of disability inclusion within the UK has encouraged more students to disclose their impairments. Yet when disabled students get to university they still face a persistent gap in experience and outcomes compared to their non-disabled peers.

This report outlines how the DSA is making disabled students pay upfront for a second laptop capable of running the software they need. It concludes that the £200 charge should be removed as an upfront cash cost to the student as a matter of urgency so that the 2019 cohort of students are helped to achieve their full potential.

As Co-Chairs of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Assistive Technology, we have seen the huge contribution technology and innovation can play in levelling the playing field and giving students the tools they need to achieve their ambitions.

Seema Malhotra MP and Lord Holmes of Richmond MBE, Co-Chairs, All-Party Parliamentary Group for Assistive Technology