In reply to Clare's point our understanding of the change is as follows.
The short answer is that the DSAs of some students will be means-tested.
The SSIN she quotes refers to the Mandatory Awards Regulations (1999)
changes for 'existing' students, but the Student Support Regulations (1999)
for 'new' students will work in a similar way. The people it will affect
are those with very large scholarships or people with salaries who are
released by their employers to study.
For new students this kind of income would first be offset against the full
fees and the full loan (means-tested and non-meanstested), as well as
against other payments like care-leavers grants. Then any left over would
begin to eat into DSAs. With the disregards of £1,000 on scholarship or
employers payments of these kinds, and the general disregard of £820, on a
rough calculation on average scholarships of around £10,000 p/a may begin to
reduce DSA entitlement.
For 'existing students' the calculation is slightly different with a
disregard of £3,865 on scholarships or salaries for people released to
study, and with different costs for it to be offset against.
Under the old regulations, though, if you had more money from these sources
than your fee and maintenance requirement (for a typical eg £3,225, plus
dependants, older persons and extra weeks) then you would be termed an
'assisted student' and not be eligible for any payments under your award.
This was a means-testing of sorts.
So although Skill would say that in principle disability should not become a
barrier to study for any students, even with higher incomes, it seems that
under the new system in general people who had been 'assisted students' and
so getting no payments may now be able to get some means-tested DSA
payments, rather than that people who were previously getting full DSAs
would now get means-tested DSAs. However, the calculations are complicated
and vary in their details from student to student, so we have said that we
will monitor the effects of the change to confirm that it does not hit
individual students unfairly. Please let us know if this new arrangement
becomes a problem for your students, or whether it means that more are
getting some support.
Skill: National Bureau for Students with Disabilities
Chapter House, 18-20 Crucifix Lane, London SE1 3JW
Fax: 0171 450 0650
Website: www.skill.org.uk
Information Service open 1.30 - 4.30 pm Monday to Friday:
0800 328 5050 (voice) 0800 068 2422 (text)
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Clare Horrocks [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Monday, June 28, 1999 4:59 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Back to the means test?
>
> I have recently noticed the following in a Student Suport Information
> Note (SSIN) sent to LEAs regarding the Education (Mandatory
> Awards) Regulations 1999:
>
> 15. The assisted student rules which were previously in regulation
> 23 have largely been removed. Only the provisions in relation to
> NHS bursary holders have been retained. New provisions in
> regulation 17 and 18 now deal with students who have bursaries or
> who have been given paid release by their employers to take their
> course....
>
> 16. The effect of the new provisions is that where a student has
> enough income of this sort it can reduce and eventually extingush
> any payments in fees, DSAs and care leaver's allowance which
> would other wise be due under the Regulations and which are not
> normally subject to the means test...
>
> Do you think this is a sneaky way of means testing the DSAs for
> some again?
>
>
> Clare Horrocks
> Disability Services Co-ordinator
> Disability Access, Resources & Technology (DART)
> University of Lincolnshire & Humberside
> Tel: + 44 (0)1482 440550 ext. 3300
> Fax: + 44 (0)1482 463531
> E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
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