For PhD students continuing their studies it is important that disability support is put in place. Especially as many disabled PhD students have an increased vulnerability to the virus and will need to be allowed to continue working from home even as the lockdown eases. [1/12]

Many disabled students don’t have access at home to the adapted technology, ergonomic chairs or other tools which they depended on to do their work. A specific COVID fund should be created for disabled students to buy the equipment they need. [2/12]

Another issue raised by many disabled students concerns communication not being made accessible to deaf and blind students, for instance due to issues with captions, BSL interpretation and braille text. [3/12]

To alleviate this we believe it is important both to remind departments and supervisors of their obligation to make learning accessible, as well as for disability staff to be encouraged to take a more proactive role in resolving student issues in creative ways. [4/12]

When we speak to disabled students their biggest issues with their studies are usually ones to do with fatigue, concentration, anxiety and change. These are problems that many disabled students experience during normal times which have now been amplified by the crisis. [5/12]

They report finding it difficult to use screens for long periods of time, taking in information online, and planning work - Issues that the Disabled Students Allowance can help with. [6/12]

85.2% of disabled students agreed that “my DSA learning support is important for me at this time” and 61% agreed that “I feel that I require additional DSA support through this period due to the changes to my academic studies”. [7/12]

To meet the increased need we believe the Student Loans Company needs to offer blanket increases in non-medical support such as Study skills tuition, Assistive technology training, mentoring etc. [8/12]

However instead of increasing support to meet the increased demand, a survey of 105 non-medical support workers indicated that on average only 74% of normal support is currently being delivered. [9/12]

So far the Student Loans company has rejected the idea of providing extra support to students who are suffering from COVID-related increase in anxiety. [10/12]

And while many universities are stepping in to pick up some of the slack, some even increasing their disability support, much is still lacking. 48.8% of disabled students report a lack of access to university or college support services impacting their studies. [11/12]

Disabled students' needs have increased while disabled students’ support has decreased. We can only conclude that the Department for Education is failing in their responsibility to give disabled students equal access to education. [12/12]