Dear XXX
I am writing to you as a member of the British Assistive Technology Association (BATA),a not-for-profit organisation formed in January 2010, which campaigns for the rights and interests ofpeople in need of assistive technology.
As the MP for my constituency, I wanted to request a meeting with you to discuss the serious concerns BATA has over the impact which proposed government changes will have on the Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSA) and the assistive technology sector.
As you may be aware, the DSA is currently undergoing “modernisation” and a significant number of BATA members are registered Assistive Technology Solution Providers who will be affected by these changes along with the students they support.
The Minister for Universities Jo Johnson has introduced a policy of reducing the support available to disabled students via DSA in the expectation that universities will fill the gap by making their course materials, lectures, tutorials etc. accessible, as they are indeed required to do under the Equalities Act.
On the face of it these changes seem reasonable, in practice there are a number of obstacles.First, universities are struggling to find the funds to pay for the technology to make studying more accessible. Recording lectures and providing assistive software, for example,areoverstretching their already stretched resources.
Second,students require personal technology to study independently at home or in halls of residence when they cannot access university facilities. Reductions in DSA will make it less likely that disabled students, already financially disadvantaged, will be able to equip themselves with appropriate technology.
Third, students will also be expected to use free or low cost software wherever possible. The emphasis on using free or low cost software is risky in that some of these products are not very effective and may not be properly supported with training and help lines, which are vital for disabled users.
The Government says it wants to encourage SMEs but some of its proposals,such as the introduction of a procurement framework ,seem designed to create a situation where only large companies will be able to tender for DSA work.
Last year, UK companies supplied £35.5m-worth of computers and software to enable 29,000 disabled students to study. Small, innovative Assistive Technology Solution Providers risk being driven out of business by the low profit margins that will prevail under the new scheme.
Students currently benefit from support levels that go well beyond what can be found on the high street. Moves to drive down costs even further will surely make this unsustainable and students who cannot access support are unlikely to be able to make uninterrupted use of their software.
We have already had reports that machines that meet the latest specification are unfit for purpose in that students can’t run the software they have been supplied with effectively. Students who cannot afford the £200 contribution are going without any software at all and are therefore more likely to withdraw from their courses.
BATA is very concerned that efforts to reform the system for supporting disabled students are being made without proper consultation by officials with little understanding of the needs of this important group of students. The end result is that disabled students will struggle to complete their courses while the industry that has been supporting them up to now will be decimated by a procurement system that takes no account of the high service levels required to support disabled users.
I would be very happy to brief you further in person or in writing on this serious matter in the hope that you will express your concern to the Minister for Universities, Jo Johnson.
Yours sincerely
XXXX