The Government remains steadfast in its commitment to do everything in its power to preserve an open border in Northern Ireland. One of the many dividends of peace in Northern Ireland and the vast reduction of the security threat is the absence of a visible border. Under no circumstances will the Government put in place infrastructure, checks, or controls at the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.

As the Prime Minister recently wrote in his letter to Donald Tusk, we must also respect the aim to find flexible and creative solutions to the unique circumstances on the island of Ireland. That means that a range of alternative methods of managing any customs and regulatory differences continue to be developed, including through discussions with officials and stakeholders.

In March the Government set out the unilateral approach to checks, processes and tariffs in Northern Ireland it will take in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal. This avoids the need for checks at the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.

Launched in November 2018, the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) is a comprehensive programme aimed at improving the teaching of computing and participation in computer science. Funding and delivery of this programme is through a network of computing hubs, and in July 2019, NCCE announced the first tranche of 23 hubs.

Truro and Penwith College is the first hub appointed in Cornwall. The Department will have a network of computing hubs offering full geographical coverage across England, by the end of the year. Schools and colleges can access support for teaching through the NCCE website or through their local computing hub.

According to the Office for National Statistics for 2018, 20% of disabled people have never used the internet, so what steps will the Department take to assist disabled people who are not computer literate to ensure that their claims are processed quickly and efficiently and that they are able to enter the job market where they can?

All claimants should be advised at the beginning of the process that there are alternative methods of communication. I welcome the introduction of the Citizens Advice provision across the jobcentre

network, which is an additional layer of independent support, particularly for vulnerable claimants who may find it difficult to access services.

Research and development is fundamental to improving future living standards, as well as tackling some of the greatest challenges and opportunities, such as those identified in our Industrial Strategy Grand Challenges, which includes Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data. Through the Industrial Strategy, we have committed to reaching the target of 2.4% of GDP investment in R&D by 2027 and 3% in the longer term, placing us in the top quartile of OECD countries.

In April 2018, we announced a Sector Deal between government and industry that will put the UK at the forefront of the AI industry. As part of this, UKRI announced £100m investment in February 2019 in PhDs in AI at 16 new Centres for Doctoral Training based at 14 UK universities. UKRI has also announced four regional workshops to seek input to the current UKRI Review of AI.

In advanced computing, my rt. hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced £79 million funding for the next national supercomputer, ARCHER2, in the recent Spring Statement. The supercomputer will be hundreds of thousands of times more powerful than a traditional desktop computer and will be used to run massive research simulations. This new resource will be housed at the University of Edinburgh's Advanced Computing Facility at Easter Bush, and will be integral in aiding discoveries in many areas of research including Materials Science, Engineering, Physics and Chemistry and Climate science.

The Department has not made any assessment of the effect of the regulation of section 6 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 on medical devices containing computers.

Section 6 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 places duties on any person who designs, manufacturers, imports or supplies any article for use at work to ensure that it will be safe and without risks to health. In general this applies to all devices used in the workplace but there are exceptions, such as medical devices, which are regulated by specific regulations that set out more detailed duties.

The Medical Devices Regulations 2002 deal with the design, manufacture, import or supply of medical devices, including those which may contain computers/software. It is for the designer, manufacturer, importer or supplier to demonstrate that their product is safe. These regulations transpose the requirements of the following European Directives concerning product safety for medical devices:

- Council Directive 90/385/EEC on Active Implantable Medical Devices (AIMDD)(1990);

- Council Directive 93/42/EEC on Medical Devices (MDD)(1993); and

- Council Directive 98/79/EC on In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices (IVDMD)(1998).

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) regulates medical devices in the United Kingdom. The following link provides more information on MHRA and its role:

https://www.gov.uk/topic/medicines-medical-devices-blood/medical-devices-regulation-safety

The Student Loans Company, as one of the department’s non-departmental public bodies, is subject to the government’s transparency requirements and will publish any contract with a value over £10,000 on Contracts Finder subject to any applicable redactions.

The information requested is not held.

The information requested is detailed below and is from internal DWP data which has not been quality assured to official statistical standards:

Reliable data for the period 2010-2013 is not held.

For the period 2014-2019 the number of devices * is detailed in the table below:

For 2019 the number of customer devices in jobcentres in England has reduced overall to 6409, due to the rationalisation of the DWP Estate. These figures include 44 new up to date customer devices which have been installed and are currently being trialled in 3 offices in England from 2019. This should result in all devices in England being replaced during 2019 with new bespoke machines designed to support the Universal Credit customer journey.

Notes:

* A desktop computer available for public use, available for the majority of time with the exception of servicing and updates.

These figures do not include “JobPoints/JobKiosks” that could be used by the public for job search activities and which were completely decommissioned by November 2014

The information requested is detailed below and is from internal DWP data which has not been quality assured to official statistical standards:

Reliable data for the period 2010-2013 is not held.

In 2014 national roll-out of customer devices* was completed by June 2014, with a total in England of 6761.

Between 2015 and 2018 these devices were maintained in England at 6761.

In 2019 the number of customer devices in jobcentres in England has reduced to 6409 due to the rationalisation of the DWP Estate. These figures include 44 new up to date customer devices which have been installed and are currently being trialled in 3 offices in England from 2019. This should result in all devices in England being replaced during 2019 with new bespoke machines designed to support the Universal Credit customer journey.

Notes:

* A desktop computer available for public use, available for the majority of time with the exception of servicing and updates.

These figures do not include “JobPoints/JobKiosks” that could be used by the public for job search activities and which were completely decommissioned by November 2014.

The department does not hold contracts for the supply of laptops under Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs).

The Student Loans Company administers DSAs, and recently announced its intention to place contracts for the supply of DSAs assistive technology equipment and training.

The department has not made an assessment of the value for money of Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) computer equipment. However, recent research commissioned by the department indicates that, overall, 73% of 558 students surveyed were satisfied with IT equipment funded by DSAs.

The research is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/770546/Evaluation_of_DSAs_Report_IFF.pdf.

A basic computer is now a mainstream cost of study for all students, disabled or not.

​We believe it is therefore reasonable for students to fund this £200 from their Maintenance Loan. Students from the lowest-income households who started their courses this year have access to the largest ever amounts of cash-in-hand support for their living costs.

Universal Credit is a digital service. The Universal Credit Full Service Claimant Survey (published on 8 June 2018) shows that 98% of claimants made their claim online, with 96% saying they had regular access to the internet.

If a claimant needs more intensive or specific support to make their claim, face-to-face and other help is available through our current Universal Support Assisted Digital Service offer, which provides bespoke help, support and skills for claimants to make and maintain their digital account online. Universal Credit has been designed with accessibility in mind and we are committed to providing personalised support for all claimants.

All jobcentres across the country have Wi-Fi and computers available for claimants to access the internet. For those that are still unable to access or use digital services, or are not able to travel, assistance to make and maintain their claim is available via the Freephone Universal Credit helpline. In exceptional circumstances, a home visit can be arranged to support a claimant in making and maintaining their claim.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that computers provided under the Disabled Students’ Allowance scheme have sufficient capacity to run assistive technology and modern operating systems effectively.

The way it works is that the needs assessor recommends certain assistive software for disabled students. The noble Lord will know that there are two types: text-to-speech software and speech-to-text software. It may well be that as a result of the review we are undertaking, looking at the details, a more powerful computer is needed. We are looking at that and that could include a move towards a solid-state hard drive. But on the point about the £200, the noble Lord will know—and I have said this before in the Chamber—that we think it is fair that disabled students pay the first £200 of the cost of the computer.

I thank the Minister for that reply. However, will he accept that if we have computers which are not powerful enough to handle the important technology or the basic operating systems, and you are paying £200 each time, this is a further incentive for people not to take up this scheme? Since around 30% of people who go through the assessment are not taking advantage of it, we should look at the whole of this problem.

Absolutely. The noble Baroness will know that we have raised the amount—doubled it, in fact—for postgraduate students. But I reassure her that the Government are committed to improving the economic efficiency and effectiveness of disabled students’ allowance. The DSA evaluation research that we commissioned late last year is due to report soon. Some useful information will come out of that, I hope.

My Lords, Her Majesty’s Government recently announced a very welcome increase in the postgraduate DSA. However, it is still out of kilter with the support available to undergraduate students. Will the Minister elaborate on any plans to align the two grants to give equal access to education for disabled undergraduate students and disabled postgraduate students?