To Everyone
I made a complaint to the Higher Education Funding Council of England
(HEFCE) around the mismanagement and inappropriateness in how my Disabled
Student Allowances(DSA's) are being spent on unqualified/unskilled
professionals/tutorial support, in which ran into thousands of pounds.
I have been at University since 1991, and have had not received specialist
educational support or diagnoses. I have Aspergers Syndrome with
Dyspraxia(Developmental Coordination Disorder), Attention Deficit Disorder,
Dyslexia and other SpLd's. I have only just received these diagnoses at the
age of 38 years old after since 1995, after accessing my medical records get
appropriate diagnoses.
I also have concerns that disabled Students, especially those students with
Specific Learning Difficulties and Autistic Spectrum Disorders are open up
to being vulnerable to many unscrupulous professionals who are sharks and
just take these grants and not meet the individuals specific specialist
educational learning needs has what as happened in my case.
University seem to be able to make autonomous decisions with the Local
Education Authorities and there is no-way of monitoring how Disabled Student
Allowances are be spent and this must be a quality assurance issues
So 'public-expenditure' money can just be wasted and the Government do not
care where tax payers money is not being used effectively ?
This can be right can it ?
What can i do next /
I have written to DfEE and also Education Minister Tessa Blackstone, but
no-one seem to be bothered or care where and how DSA's are being mismanaged
Please can anyone give me with further advice what to do next ? or will I
just give-up ?
Read the response I have received from HEFCE
----- Original Message -----
From: "Yvonne PERRY (7233)" <[log in to unmask]>
To: "'Colin Revell'" <[log in to unmask]>
Cc: "Gemma HELBERT (7103)" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: 21 March 2001 14:28
Subject: Complaint
> Dear Mr Revell,
>
> thank you for your note which Gemma passed on to me. I did send you a
> 'holding' reply last week by email explaining that we were investigating
> your complaint but this does not appear to have reached you.
>
> I appreciate your concern but feel it is important to outline to you the
> funding which we as HEFCE give to institutions:
>
> 1. There is an overall teaching grant which is very generally based on
> numbers of students.
>
> 2. There are a number of other grant allocations which are given to
> institutions such as an allocation specifically for widening participation
> etc.
>
> 3.There is also a specific allocation for widening access for students
with
> disabilities which is calculated for each institution based on the
> proportion of full time undergraduates who were in receipt of the DSA.
>
>
> I think that this latter allocation would be of interest to you. We
> allocate it direct to institutions and, respecting their autonomy, we
expect
> them to use it for the purposes for which it is designed. We do not
however
> monitor how they spend this money and are therefore unable to intervene in
> any individual complaints such as the one you have described.
>
> I am sorry we cannot be of any further help on this occasion, and would
> suggest that you continue to raise the matter with the institutions
> concerned.
>
>
> Yvonne Perry
> Higher Education Adviser
> HEFCE
> Tel 0117 9317233
Regards
Colin Revell
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