25th January 2016
Disabled Students Allowances - NMH Supplier Registration Notification
Dear Non-Medical Help supplier
You may be aware that Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) are being modernised to ensure best value for taxpayers’ money is being achieved and that Higher Education (HE) providers comply with their Equality Act duties. One of the areas for reform is how NMH providers and support workers are quality assured in the future, to ensure that all providers can demonstrate that they have the right skills and experience and are providing quality support.
A new system for registering and accrediting NMH suppliers is being introduced and from 4 April 2016 only those NMH providers registered with DSA-QAG will be permitted to provide DSAs-funded support for students being recommended an NMH service for the first time. SLC records show you have previously provided NMH to DSAs-funded students. This letter now invites you to register if you wish to supply services to DSAs students whose needs are assessed as requiring an NMH service after 4 April 2016.
The registration process consists of two parts. Firstly you are invited to register as an NMH provider at [http://www.dsa-qag.org.uk/nmh-online-registration], using the online form and accompanying guidance documents (including information of the qualifications and professional body membership you may need to have). You have until 19 February 2016 to register your organisation/self-employment details if you want to be accredited to supply DSAs-funded support from 4 April 2016.
Every invoicing provider will be required to register separately. If you work solely for an organisation providing NMH support services you do not need to complete this form, your organisation will do this for you. However, if you also operate as a self-employed provider, you must complete the online registration to be recognised as a self-employed provider.
DSA-QAG will validate all NMH providers based on criteria provided by BIS; this will include details such as staff qualifications, professional body membership and company details, before your details will become available for inclusion on the NMH register and subsequently available for selection by study needs assessors.
All NMH providers with less than 30 NMH support workers who register will need to submit a staff list, including details of their qualifications. For organisations with 30 or more NMH support workers, we will ask the NMH provider to validate their staff based on the aforementioned criteria and sign a declaration in lieu of completing the staff list. This will then be checked at the audit stage.
The second stage of the process requires the NMH provider to agree to comply with the new quality assurance framework (QAF) and to pay a registration fee to DSA-QAG to complete the registration process. A link to the QAF will be provided by DSA-QAG prior to the NMH register being published.
Your organisation (or you if you are a self-employed worker) will be requested to consent to the audit process and will be issued with an NMH provider registration invoice for £100 plus VAT. This will allow your/you organisation to make payment through PayPal.
On receipt of your fee payment and consent to be audited, your application details will be authorised for publication. The launch of the NMH register is planned for publication at the beginning of April.
On completion of the application process you will become a registered provider. BIS intends all providers will be audited within the first year, following audit your organisation will become accredited to DSA-QAG. You will need to be audited on a yearly basis thereafter to remain registered and accredited. Details of the audit process and annual audit fees will be issued to NMH providers in due course.
If you do not consent to be audited against the QAF then you do not need to submit the registration fee and no further action will be taken. Your details will not appear on the DSA-QAG website as an accredited supplier. This will not affect any support you are already supplying to existing DSAs students for 2016/17. You may continue to provide NMH support that is already in place for existing DSAs-funded students.
In order to supply DSAs-funded services for any student assessed as needing an NMH service they have not previously received after 4 April 2016 you must register with DSA-QAG. If you fail to register you will not be able to draw DSAs-funding for students assessed for a different type of NMH for the first time after 4 April 2016. BIS intends that all NMH suppliers will be required to register from 2017/18 and will consider after the first year whether to continue to allow DSAs-funding to be drawn down by providers who remain unregistered, regardless of whether they are already providing support to students.
If you have received this letter but you do not supply non-medical help services (for example you provide transport services or one-off items of equipment), please ignore this letter.
There will be an appeals process, the details of which are outlined in the application guidance document. This will apply to appeals made by organisations that have not been validated by DSA-QAG.
Any queries about this letter can be addressed to
Regards
Anthony Hill,
Targeted Support Services Manager