BIS issue Conflict of Interest guide for Disabled Students Allowance

BIS have issued their guidance on the management of conflict of interest for those people, business and organizations paid through the DSA scheme. This takes the form of an SSIN information notice on the Student Finance Practitioners website and has been issued directly to assessment centres and equipment suppliers.

For a number of years, the DSAQAG Framework documents used to audit assessment centres and equipment suppliers included a conflict of interest statement. This year, for the first time, conflict of interest appeared as a heading in the DSA Guidance chapter, a document that sets out the rules for the administration of DSA. However, at the time of issue, the conflict of interest section promised details to follow. Now we have them. Point 27 shows that even if there is no conflict of interest, anyone can think that there might be; presumably there will an increase in the area of audit activity on this point.

Declaration and management of conflicts of interest should be seen in the context of a National Audit Office enquiry onthis subject. The NAO focused on one company but this appears to have been a test case. Also relevant is the long-running attempt to require two quotations for the supply of non medical helper services to DSA students (the attempted introduction several years ago was curtailed by the introduction of a system for exemption from the two quotations). Universities have been called upon toend exclusive supply arrangements.

Crumbling cuts schedule announced by BIS

More of the cuts to Disabled Students Allowance scheduled to hit those entering university this September (2015) have been postponed until next year (academic year 16/17). The specific areas mentioned are additional disability-related accommodation, peripherals (which is likely to mean printers, scanners and ergonomic items related to computers), and consumables (which in DSA terms would mean printing and photocopying costs).

This follows on from the stalling announcement made in September by Greg Clark, which halted the threatened massive reduction in funds available for a wide range of non-medical helper support (such as practical assistants and note-takers).

This time round we have again an announcement written in terms of the universities getting a reprieve, the delay is to “help give institutions the time to review the services they offer to disabled students and make appropriate improvements to meet their needs”. This suggests that the universities, not students nor DSA itself are the intended victims of “rebalancing” and therefore universities would have felt some sort of unacceptable impact as a result of reductions in the number of goods and services available via the DSA. Those of us work with actual students are more used to thinking in student-centred terms so this emphasis on the protection of the welfare of institutions is somewhat strange.  

Bearing in mind a judicial review has been granted to two disabled students, the phrase “the Government would prefer to move forward in a consensual manner (as far as is reasonably possible) rather than through litigation” leaps off the page.

Greg Clark (BIS Minister) says he would not want to do anything to put off a disabled student applying for university

Greg Clark appeared hesitant and non-committal about where things go next with the planned cuts to Disabled Students Allowance in last night’s HE Hustings event organized by HEPI, Universities UK, OU and the Times HigherEd.

In response to a question about access to education for disabled students in the context of DSA cuts and the forthcoming judicial review. Mr Clark noted that he had stalled the proposed DSA plans when he came to office. He suggested that things had perhaps needed some more consideration.

For those of us working with disabled students on a daily basis, Mr Clark’s wistful desire for more thinking time was expressed on the day that we had been told final Guidance for DSA administration would be released. No Guidance seen. DSA applicants for academic year 15/16 still cannot have an assessment of need because the administrative guidance has not been released. Instead, we had a long awaited new computer specification document that includes items supposedly on the ‘cuts list’ under DSA modernisation (laptop stands, USB hubs).

Liam Byrne for the Labour Party called for more emphasis on students rights, a suggestion that perhaps reflects the current draft DSA Guidance students that places disabled students without adequate support in conflict with universities without clear or credible means for swift and fair dispute resolution.

Julian Huppert, Lib Dem instrumental in securing a Westminster Hall debate on DSA just before David Willetts left office, continues to support a more rational and steady approach to DSA change.

What now? The judicial review has been granted because the consultation has been challenged as inadequate. The Minister responsible for stalling on the initial modernisation has implied more consultation may be indicated and expressed a sense of what seems almost like a duty of care towards disabled people applying for university. An announcement from BIS soon, surely?

Student Loans Company DSA cut enforcement process : initial details

Student Loans Company have released the answers to frequently asked questions about the forthcoming cuts to Disabled Students Allowances. It is in fact the government department BIS who are behind the plans to cut printers, scanners, course software, book allowance - but the Student Loans Company are the organisation who will be enforcing the cuts and they now show outward signs of constructing a process that will make at least some of the modernisation measures workable. The SLC will be in charge of deducting £200 from the cost of the computer identified as part of the DSA needs assessment and of telling the student they cannot have the full cost of a computer through the DSA. That will put the SLC in the position of cut enforcers. There will be no appeal on the £200 because it has already been embedded into an amendment of the student finance regulations. SLC will always tell students they cannot have the full cost of a computer from the DSA. Under the current system, a student who wishes to purchase a computer from a non-DSA QAG supplier has to get an agreement from SLC on the amount that they are willing to reimburse. The amount seems to be based on either the lowest of the three computer prices in the DSA needs assessment report, or on a figure considered reasonable by SLC which is not related to an individual needs assessment. It will be interesting to see how SLC handle this in the future because there could be large numbers of students making a routine enquiry about open market reimbursement.

University practice changing ahead of DSA cuts

University of Salford have released detailsabout how and why they are changing their approach to accessible course delivery. ALL students will now have access to PowerPoint slides before lectures, fair warning of timetable changes and preparation time for class discussion. No more Individual Support Plans.

Every university is being challenged in the name of DSA modernisation which aims to rebalance the responsibilities and the costs of inclusive and accessible higher education.

In the frequently asked questions, the University states that DSA is being removed for students with specific learning difficulties; that is not the case (at least not if we assume the information in the public domain is correct). The Equality Analysis states that those with mild dyslexia are deemed to be outside the scope of DSA funded support, those with moderate to severe levels of specific learning difficulty will be able to claim DSA. Furthermore, in a clause added in December 14 the “impact of the learning environment” has been added as a factor in “complexity’ thus providing an argument for ‘mild’ dyslexia being ‘moderate to severe’ in a complex learning environment. 

BIS update Equality Analysis on Disabled Students Allowance

BIS updated the Equality Analysis on thechanges to Disabled Students’ Allowance on 16th December 14. 
Some of the statistics have been updated since the October version (section 19).  

The most significant addition to the content is at section 70:

“Consultation with stakeholders on this proposal has highlighted that the complexity of a student’s Specific Learning Difficulty is related primarily to the impact of the learning environment, rather than the severity of the impairment. Whilst it is the case that inclusive learning environments and anticipatory reasonable adjustments will remove the reliance on DSAs for some students with a Specific Learning Difficulty, this is unlikely to relate to the severity of their learning difficulty. Therefore, for the purposes of these reforms, students with Specific Learning Difficulties are assumed to be part of the wider disabled student body that will be affected by the Non-Medical help proposal and will not be treated as a distinct group. “

This new point appears somewhat at odds with the one above it, which states that students with ‘mild SpLD’ will be assumed to be a distinct group:

“We propose that DSAs funding remains available to students presenting with moderate to severe levels of Specific Learning Difficulties, as evidence by the range of tests, and that institutions make sufficient anticipatory and individual reasonable adjustments to meet the needs of their students presenting with a mild Specific Learning Difficulty.”

This does not change the intention of the original ‘DSA modernisation’ proposal that “Students with Specific Learning Difficulties will continue to receive support through DSAs where their support needs are considered to be more complex.” The Equality Analysis of October 14 clarified that ‘more complex’ means moderate to severe. The December 14 addition does not remove the university’s responsibility for meeting the needs of students with mild SpLD.

The ‘non-medical help proposal’ referred to in section 70 comes into force in academic year 16/17 and is that “institutions to provide any individual lower level support needed by disabled students” , effectively cutting  ten types of support from DSA funding (section 64 and 65). What the Equality Analysis confirms is that all disabled students will be affected by this cut – a student with severe dyslexia will not be able to have a note-taker funded through DSA, and neither will a student with a severe visual, hearing, physical or mental health impairment.

DSA delay for students caused by delay in finalisation of administration guidance

Students face delays in the processing of Disabled Students Allowance applications for this funding round (for courses starting September 2015).

Changes to the type of equipment and support services available through the Disabled Students Allowance were announced in April 2014. Between October and December Statutory Instrument passed through Parliament, confirming that all students will have to meet a £200 shortfall on computers needed to run specialist software. As promised, a version of the document that sets out how changes are to be reflected in needs assessments and administered by the main funding body (Student Loans Company) was made available for comment. However, it was not widely circulated, it was not clear whether open comments or 'usual channel' stakeholder group comments were being asked for, and was difficult or impossible for disabled peoples' group to locate the document or to understand what was being asked for. Shortly after the news of a legal challenge on DSA cuts centred on lack of appropriate consultation, we have the news that the comments period for for the draft administrative guidance has been extended to 20th Feb. The DSA application forms, however, have already been released. This means that DSA needs assessment reports and the agreement to recommendations will be delayed while we wait for the release of the finalised version of the rules.

BIS re-opens comments on DSA change and cuts document due to unfortunate error

The deadline for comments on the draft DSA Guidance has been extended to 20th February. This is the document that contains cuts to students’ access to printers, scanners and book allowance during a period when universities have won reprieve from support worker cuts on the grounds that they needed more time to organize themselves in order to meet legal duties. It also confirms that students will be expected to contribute £200 towards a computer to run assistive software that is recommended as part of their needs assessment. It has been very difficult for those who work with disabled students to ascertain whether there is or has been appropriate consultation or notification to stakeholders and those who will be affected by these changes. The deadline has been extended because BIS acknowledge that information was simply not available. Comments and feedback goes to disabledstudentsallowances@bis.gsi.gov.uk

Non medical helpers; competitive, commercial environment but we still have ‘one quote’ monopolies?

A recent response to a Freedom of Information request for details about a Student Loans Company information gathering exercise about the arrangements for non-medical helper supply notes that one of the reasons why the full data should not be released is that it “might prejudice the commercial interests of these supplier “operate in a operate in a competitive, commercial environment”. Fair enough points, especially when read in the context of the information having been volunteered without knowing at the time that it might be released publically and that 20% of universities did not reply. However, the Student Loans Company holds a ‘one quote’ list of around 200 universities who are exempt from competition in this competitive environment. In other words, there is no competition….

SLC release new DSA statistics

Supplementary statistics released last week by the Student Loans Company have a more detailed breakdown of DSA student numbers and expenditure than have previously been made available in public. Over the past 3 full academic years, the number of students in receipt of DSA has increased and so has the total DSA spend. The spend per student appears fairly static at around the £2.2k mark. In 12/13 the portioning of DSA seems to have taken a turn: less spent on equipment, more on non-medical helper. Hard to come to any conclusions without the complete figures for following years. Very obvious the needs assessment fee will come under scrutiny now it has been separated out from NMH and placed in general allowance: it’s there plain to see.

Stealth Cuts: DSA and A2W parallels

DWP and BIS are using veiled processes to inflict cuts to disabled people. Parliamentary investigation into Access to Work found that "many Access to Work applicants and service users are unclear about the basis on which the Department makes decisions on eligibility and levels of awards. There is currently an unacceptable lack of clarity and transparency around this"(page 44) The same is true with regard to Disabled Students Allowance. The current application form for DSA and the information available on the direct.gov website and Student Loans Company does not inform students that the evidence submitted must show that they have a disability as defined by the Equality Act. This was a change to eligibility standards that was brought in before an impact analysis and with little or no consultation or notice for disability advisers. DSA has also experienced the 'consultation that was not a consultation' and the issuing of draft administrative guidance for comment that contains nothing to actually comment on in key areas such as the process for collecting the £200 laptop tax, exceptional case process, appeals and adjudication. There is detailed background on the Access to Work 'quiet cuts' situation in the Guardian plus a comment about the parallels with DSA.

Fall in numbers of part time students may mean fewer disabled students in higher education

Statistics released last week show that the number of part time students in higher education continues to fall. Part time study is an option for people who find the logistics of physical or cognitive demands of full time attendance and full-on independent study exhausting, or overwhelming. A study by the NUS and OU in Wales in 2104 found that 22% of the students they surveyed were disabled people. That is a much higher proportion than the 5 – 10% often cited as a rule of thumb measure of the number of disabled students in UK universities as a whole. The fall has been noted by the Office of Fair Access. As reported in the Guardian, the fall in part time numbers will also mean a fall in the numbers of students who are 'traditionally underrepresented' in universities.

confusion about cut to disabled students allowance detail triggers parliamentary question

Hereditary peer (LibDem) and vice president of the British Dyslexia Association Dominic Addington has has raised questions in the House of Lords about forthcoming DSA cuts. Addington writes: "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." Draft guidance has been issued about the proposed changes but it lacks details about how students will be asked for the £200 for a computer through the DSA, how exceptional cases will be considered, or how non medical helper support will be funded for existing DSA students who will still be staying after the reform date of academic year 16/17. There is lack of details also about the proposed 'bulk buying' and 'streamlining'; these elements appear to have been open to lobbying over the summer but closed in terms of information to stakeholder groups. Lord Addingtion was told "disabled groups and their representatives have recognised and welcomed the changes" which means that at some stage since the modernisation announcement in April 2014 some people, somewhere and somehow have agreed a laptop tax, a reduction in IT peripherals, abolition of the book allowance and cuts to funds for accommodation to be enacted through a more combative and complaints based process.

NUS campaign lumps DSA into a general 'costs of education' campaign

The National Union of Students have chosen lump DSA in with other cuts in a cost of education project. No doubt have a good reason for it but it seems stange that they have dropped what was an intense 'stop the cuts/ degrees of discrimination' campaign. Perhaps they have misunderstood? In September 2014 the NUS put out a statement that claimed the DSA cuts had been postponed for 2 years. It was true that HEIs won a delay on the reducrion on the range of medical helper support to be funded through the DSA. But students starting courses in September 2015 will experience a combination of less in the way of equipment and general allowances while also having to find £200 for a computer.

dsa cuts in top 5 trends that will affect higher education this year

The jobs.ac.uk site puts DSA cuts at number 3 in a list of trends that will affect higher education this year. The message that the cuts are aimed primarily at students with dyslexia is filtering through to a more general audience it seems.

dsaassessor comments on the draft DSA Guidance for academic year 15/16

Comments on the Draft DSA Guidance for 15/16 issued October 2014
Dear BIS,
1. The £200 contribution destroys a previously fiscally-fair student finance product. The DSA is non-means tested and intended to cover the additional costs a student is obliged to incur. By introducing a requirement for students to pay £200 towards a computer that is required to run assistive software, you are introducing means-related element to the DSA. Arguably, the student is now obliged to incur a cost of £200.

2. Students not given fair notice of changes The introduction of the £200 levy has been enacted at very short notice for students. Your own Equality Analysis notes that you took note of the HEI arguments that they would not be ready for changes in AY 15/16. It appears students are expected to have been ready, without notice. The students applying for places in 15/16 had no knowledge of the £200 – there have been no details issued to advisers, no information and advice issued, no mention of the £200 in the funding body publicity and nothing on directgov. This is very close to the Access to Work situation where ‘secret rules’ and unannounced changes have been challenged.

3. Cuts to IT peripherals is premature The fact that HEIs have been given a delay period based on ‘not being ready to meet their legal requirements’ seems at odds with the introduction of exceptional case only rules for IT peripherals (printers and scanners) for students with the expectation that the HEI will provide meet need. The HEI’s told you: they will not be ready. It will be an exceptional university that is able to provide 24 hour accessible to all printing and scanning facilities in September 2015.

4. Book allowance: exceptions, or not? Connected to the point above is the 'textbooks: no exceptions' statement in the draft guidance. This is at odds with the Equality Analysis promise that exceptional case will used to mitigate problems with books.

5. Mobility Training – DSA, or not? Page 49 describes mobility trainers as if it is funded via DSA. Annex B notes mobility training as an example of a reasonable adjustment.

6. Specialist One to One Study Skills Support – “a reducing level of support “is not clear Annex B states that the HEI can be expected to provide the following as a reasonable adjustment: ”Specialist one-to-one support for students with SpLDs available from the institution for one hour per week, per SpLD student’”. This is presumably the base-line for the HEI funded support throughout the whole course, with the DSA being expected to pay for additional sessions. Assuming the HEI provision remains constant at one hour per week why is there an expectation that the DSA funded hours will reduce? This does not take into account increased cognitive demands of course as the course moves to higher levels.

7. Exceptional case process – timescales needed As above, the premature introduction of IT peripherals cuts will mean that there will be a large number of these cases based on ‘HEI cannot provide’ argument. There will also be students who request exceptional cases to be made for Macs and tablet computers (as they do now). There need to be some stated time scales for decisions on the exceptional case element of need assessments, otherwise it may be quicker to submit a needs assessment and get refusals first-off and advise the student to trigger a complaint against the funding body.
Amanda Kent
DSA needs assessor

Questions by Addington

The answer in the lords and te commentary piece

200

200 apparently welcomed by disabled reps

"escalation"

Sfe escalation on the website Add Compliants

Equality Act definition of disability applied before any analysis on impact

BIS instructed the Student Loan Company to apply the Equality Act definition of disability to DSA applicants before analysing the impact if that change in the eligibility criteria. The Student Loan Company themselves did not investigate because the instruction came from the overseeing government department. All this was confirmed via a Freedom of information request. Furthermore, the SLC application forms for DSA did not note the change which meant that students and their advisers did not know that SLC required the evidence to confirm physical or mental impairment having a substantial and long terms substantial and adverse effects on the activities of daily living. According to a later Equality Analysis, this change of eligibility criteria did not affect disabled people. However, assessment centres and university disability advisers met with students who had previously been given DSA eligibility and who had applied for another course and had their medical evidence declined. An example from my own experience - fibromyalgia evidence accepted at undergraduate level but declined for PGCE. These examples proved that students were affected by the change because they suddenly became illegible for support using evidence that had previously been accepted.

Non medical helper database

DSA QAG have announced a delay in their non medical helper database project that had been started with the aim of providing one standard source of information for DSA funded support. The reason for the delay is that 75% of the organisations contacted for informant did not respond. This is hardly a shock given that there area already two databases in operation so those approached probably think they have already responded. In addition, there may be sone suspicion about enquiries about non medical helper support at a time when BIS are known to be developing plan to cut it. http://www.dsa-qag.org.uk/component/com_docman/Itemid,258/gid,657/task,doc_download/