Disabled students wait for specialist equipment grants

Almost 12,500 students in England are still waiting for grants to pay for specialist equipment, figures from the Student Loans Company show. The statistics reveal two thirds of students with a disability or special needs are still waiting for money.

The figures were obtained by the Conservatives following a Freedom of Information request. The SLC, which was criticised for its mismanagement of regular student loans, says it is reviewing its processes.

Tens of thousands of students were forced to start the academic year without their full loan and grant entitlement after problems with the processing of applications. A 10% increase in applications for university places coincided with changes to the way first-time loan applications were dealt with and technical problems.

Students complained of lost personal documents, jammed telephone lines and delays in approval for their loans. The latest figures show at the end of January some 16,000 English-based students are still waiting for at least some of their money. A further 2,000, whose claims have been fully processed, are waiting for their first payment.

These delays have had a knock-on effect for students with disabilities, because - in England - disabled students' allowances (DSAs) are administered by the SLC. Of the 19,006 eligible DSA applications, only 6,507 have been fully processed and approved by the SLC. This means that, almost four months after term started, only 34% of eligible applications have been processed.

DSAs are available for all UK students with a disability and are used to buy specialist computer equipment resources such as Braille paper, or to pay for personal helpers to assist on campus. The allowance is paid in Scotland by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland, in Wales by the Welsh Assembly government through local bodies and in Northern Ireland by the education and library boards.

David Gibson is studying for a post-graduate qualification in teaching at the Institute of Education in London and wants to teach geography. He said he has yet to receive his DSA to cover expenses related to his dyspraxia and dyslexia.

Mr Gibson said the allowance would cover a computer and software to help him with his studies, as well as a mentor to talk to occasionally. "It is the most stressful time I've had in the past 30 years," he said.

The SLC said the application process for DSAs "took longer than applications for other types of student finance". We are still awaiting information from 5,179 assessment centres and more than 4,297 students, and are processing the remainder of applications as quickly as possible," a spokesman said. "We are currently reviewing the process and procedures for targeted students in consultation with relevant organisations and special interest groups and we will also be improving the training of specialist advisers."

Before students with disabilities are given DSAs, they are assessed. Chair of the National Network of Assessment Centres Lesley Morrice said it appeared that the SLC was trying to blame the delays on the assessment centres and on the students. That was unacceptable, she said: "We work to tight deadlines when processing students' assessments. There is no evidence of significant delays at the assessment centres on this sort of scale. I have been an assessment centre manager for over 12 years and these delays are unprecedented. The SLC implemented changes without proper consultation and without appreciating the impact on students".

Shadow universities and skills secretary David Willetts said: "These figures are truly shocking. Almost four months after term started, and two months after the government said the problems were being fixed, thousands of disabled students are still waiting for the funding they need to pay for vital equipment. Twice as many disabled students have not been paid their grants as have been paid them. Ministers are still passing the buck and still failing to deliver. Students deserve better - much better."

An inquiry into the loans delays led by Professor Sir Deian Hopkin, which reported in December, complained of "conspicuous failures". Two managers later left the SLC under a restructuring programme.