David Willets, the Minister for Universities and Science, has announced plans for a series of cuts to the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) provision. This places the burden of funding onto universities and the affected students themselves.

 The DSA provides students with funding based on how much support an individual needs. This can help these students access specialist equipment or accommodation (computer software, accessible rooms), non-medial helpers (scribes, readers), extra travel costs and other costs related to supporting students’ studies. Students eligible for a DSA are those who have a disability or long-term condition, such as a mental health condition, as well as those with specific learning difficulties like dyslexia.

The planned cuts to this funding have raised concerns that this will reduce access to higher education for students with disabilities and dyslexia, as well as limit how successful these students are in higher education.

 A petition is currently online which calls for Willets to halt the implementation of this policy until a full equality impact assessment has been undertaken. If you’d like to support this cause, you can sign it online here: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/63748