Hi Sue,
This is not necessarily a good thing. Funds for accomodation like this
should be provided by Social Services, eating into the DSA where the
student needs extensive support on the course itself reduces the funds
available. I made recommendations for NMA support that would cost
£10,000 for a student yesterday, if she had needed funds for
accomodation for a personal assistant and it had been taken from the
DSA
where would she be?
I personally feel it is a bad prescedent to set. Personal Care,
Mobility
and support outside 'study areas' is not what the DSA is for. It is not
always true that the student would not have had these expenses if not
at
uni - this view assumes that her parents/family provide care or
support.
The student may well have wanted to (or have to) live independently and
have accomodation and personal care funded by the responsible agencies
-
these agencies are still responsible if the student attends university.
Sure it would be nice to have flexibility in certain circumstances but
Social Services aren't going to pay for a note taker if the DSA has
been
used on a personal care worker's accomodation.
Mick Trott
Hereward ACCESS Centre


Sue Green wrote:
> 
> Pauline (& thanks to others who replied),
> 
> This is really helpful, it's good to know a precedent has been set,
> and that DSA has been used to contribute to housing costs. It is
> true that the applicant would not have this expense unless she was
> a student, because the PAs would normally live as part of her
> household and any accommodation costs would be part of her
> usual household expenditure.
> 
> Sue
> 
> On 25 May 00, at 17:02, pauline Boyden wrote:
> 
> Date sent:              Thu, 25 May 2000 17:02:42 +0100
> Subject:                Accommodation Costs
> From:                   pauline Boyden <[log in to unmask]>
> To:                     [log in to unmask]
> Send reply to:          [log in to unmask]
> 
> > We had a student in the past who needed 24hr care and therefore a
room had
> > to be found adjacent to the students in Halls of Residence.
> >
> > One carer was funded by the DSA and the other by the student's
Social
> > Services.  Accommodation was included and funded as appropriate
from the
> > two sources.  Agreements and accepted ways of administering this
process
> > were all sorted out before the student commenced his course.
Everything
> > went very smoothly and the student finished his course with flying
colours.
> >
> > It is worth exploring this possibililty.
> >
> 
> **********************************************************
> Sue Green
> Disability Co-Ordinator
> Student Support & Counselling Service
> The University of Birmingham
> Edgbaston
> B15 2TT
> Tel 0121-414-5130
> Minicom 0121-414-6445
> email [log in to unmask]


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