I'm a student receiving DSA from ESRC and I used to get a payment
every three months for daily expenses and used this to pay for
internet, ink, taxis etc. Now I have to pay for these myself and
claim back - some months I have to pay out up to £600, but on average
it is about £150, and I really can't afford to do this. The change
has also made it more difficult for non-medical helpers to claim their
money, and I've already have one refuse to do any more work for me
because of it.
I hate the changes they've made,
Emma
On 19/04/07, Caroline Davies <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>
> Dear Emma,
>
> Presumably research councils are public bodies and have to comply with the
> disability equality duty. It would be interesting to know whether they have
> impact assessed this change of policy to see whether it has an adverse
> impact on disabled people! The Universities in receipt of this funding
> should certainly look at the way that they manage it to avoid negative
> impact - maybe this could be used as a lever. From what you have said it
> looks like a workable system, but it needs joined up thinking and efficient
> flow of information.
>
> Caroline
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Emma Price
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
> Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2007 12:38 PM
> Subject: Postgraduate DSA Funding
>
>
>
>
> Dear all
>
>
>
> There appears to be a number of research councils who are now transferring
> administrative and financial responsibility for the DSA directly to
> institutions. We are currently aware of the AHRC and the ESRC who have
> taken up this model. The AHRC have decided to transfer the required funds
> to the institution, in order to pay suppliers, non-medical helpers etc. The
> transfer goes directly into a general account (the same as used for any
> block grants) as and when requested. The ESRC work on a reimbursement
> system, with the College claiming back any deficit spent throughout the year
> on ESRC DSA. I'm skipping the details here, however this generally means
> that DSA goes into a wider pool of money, making our administrative task of
> getting our hands on the funds more problematic, though this may just be us!
> I wonder if this is a problem for other institutions who have a significant
> proportion of PG research activity.
>
>
>
> It would be ideal if someone at the research council was responsible for
> notifying the allocated Disability Support Officer at the institution when
> money was being transferred – in the same way that LAs aim to keep DOs in
> the loop. No knowledge that the funds have been transferred results in an
> unnecessary delay for the student. Has anyone else found this?
>
>
>
> Best wishes
>
>
>
> Emma
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Emma Price
>
> Disability Co-ordinator
>
> King's College London
--
Emma Jane Wright
School of Sociology and Social Policy
University of Nottingham
[log in to unmask]
www.accessingmaterials.org.uk
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