Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat). It was answered on Thursday, 25 February 2010.

Disabled People: Student Allowance

Question: I thank the noble Lord for that Answer. Does he accept that the proposal from the organisation on 9 February that standard packages, which do not have an initial assessment, should be given to dyslexic students, who form 70 per cent of the student body, is a guarantee for not only giving the wrong type of package but for wasting a considerable amount of money? Is that organisation fit for purpose?

Answer: My Lords, I have said that the performance of the organisation is not good enough. That has been confirmed by the independent review. The Government have a good record in giving support to disabled students because we firmly believe that disability should not be a barrier for anyone trying to gain access to higher education. In 1997-98, 10,700 disabled students were offered £13.3 million in support. Provisional figures for the academic year 2008-09 show that more than 45,000 higher education students in England are in receipt of in excess of £100 million in support. That does not mean that the system is operating adequately for all disabled students. I will make sure that those in my department who are responsible for administering this look very carefully at what the noble Lord said and at the ways in which he believes we can remedy the situation and make a poor service better.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 717 c1092
Session: 2009-10
Oral question type: 1st Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Subjects: Disability Administration Grants Higher education Dyslexia Standards Students Student Loans Company Disabled students' allowances
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk