Changes to Disabled Students Allowance delayed

Minister for Universities and Science, Greg Clark, today made a Written Ministerial Statement on the Government's planned reforms to Disabled Student's Allowance (DSA). The statement sets out that proposed changes to DSA will no longer be made this year.

The Special Educational Consortium (SEC) has been calling for these changes to be suspended because disabled people, and the organisations which represent them, had not been involved in any meaningful discussions on the changes due to be made. SEC argued that if the Government pressed ahead without understanding the full impact of its proposals, it risked undermining its own intention to support disabled young people to reach their full potential. It would also have undermined commitments made during the passage of the Children and Families Act 2014.

SEC warmly welcomes the Government's decision to delay reforms to DSA and its commitment to fully consult on the changes. This announcement will give young people applying for university this year the certainty they need when choosing the right university for them.