Thank you to all who have responded on this one. It is an interesting
situation. It seems that the DRC are advising that it is illegal to
charge for the carers room on the basis of the following paragraph in
their code.
"A disabled person is not required to contribute to the cost of a
reasonable adjustment, therefore an educaton provider should not
charge a student for any reasonable adjustments." (P 5.53 in
consultation doc, not sure what number in revised code of practice).
Apparantly some Universities in the Brighton and East sussex areas
have decided not to charge for carers accommodation on this basis.
The general pattern around the country, however is that the cost of
the carers accommodation is covered by social services or by direct
payments.
Should the DRC be asked to pursue this matter, then it could become
part of a test case which could determine for the future which party
(Social Services/Direct payments or Universities) are responsible for
bearing the cost of carers accommodation!
Watch this space!
________________________________
From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff.
on behalf of Julie Davenport
Sent: Wed 22/08/2007 10:58
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: costs for carers accommodation
Hello Heather
Ive been successful in obtaining Social Services funding for the carer
room 3 times this year so far. We already have an existing 2 care
packages in place also. Various areas.
Regards
Julie Davenport
Disability Advisor
Dart
The University's Disability Service
University of Lincoln
Tel: 01522 886400
Fax: 01522 886489
Minicom: 01522 886055
-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff.
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Heather Griffiths
Sent: 21 August 2007 17:06
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: costs for carers accommodation
Dear all
I'm aware that this has been debated in the past, but am interested in
current thinking. We have a student coming in in the Autumn who needs
a
room for a carer. Their Social Services are saying that they will not
pay the cost of the carers accommodation if it is considered "illegal"
to charge for the carers accommodation. The DRC is apparantly
advising
the parent that it is illegal for us to be charging for the carer's
accommodation! Has anyone else come across this recently? Are social
services in your area paying the cost of carer's accommodation?
A speedy response would be appreciated.
Many thanks
Heather Griffiths
Newman College of HE, Birmingham
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