Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what mechanisms (a) are available and (b) will be available from 2016-17 for applicants for disabled students’ allowance (DSA) who wish to appeal against an assessment by an independent needs assessor; how many students have appealed against such a DSA assessment in each year since 2009-10; and how many of those appeals have been found in favour of the appellant in each of those years.

Joseph Johnson

All disabled higher education students who are eligible for Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) are referred to an independent assessment centre so as to identify the type and level of support they require.

A DSAs Needs Assessment Report, which sets out any recommendations for support, is agreed between the independent needs assessor and the student. The assessment report is not a decision about the type and amount of support to be provided.

The assessment report is submitted to Student Finance England (SFE), who makes a decision about the type and amount of support they will fund.

Student Finance England has an established appeals process which students can use if they do not agree with the final decision made by Student Finance England in relation to any aspect of their support.

SFE appeals information is categorised by appeal issue type rather than by student support product type. Therefore information on appeals that specifically relate to DSAs is not produced.