§ Mr. Gregory CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what provision is being made to assist disabled people in undertaking courses at each of Northern Ireland's universities. [171004]
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§ Mr. GardinerThe Department for Employment and Learning has in place a number of specific actions designed to promote access to Higher Education by students with disabilities. These include a funding premium, special project funding and capital funding. The universities might, for example, use this funding to provide specialist equipment or specific support for students with a disability.
The Department also provides the universities with special project funding under the "Improving Provision for Disabled Students" initiative. Queen's University Belfast (QUB) has received special project funding to support a Disability Services Co-ordinator, and to support a project entitled "To Enhance Employment opportunities for Students with Disabilities". The University of Ulster (UU) has received special project funding to establish, in partnership with QUB Institute, a register of freelance professional and non-professional support workers, including dyslexia support workers, readers and notetakers, to assist students with disabilities.
QUB and UU have received Disability Capital Funding from the Department, which is aimed at assisting the universities in funding essential capital works to provide, for example, ramps, lift adaptations, disabled toilets, carparking for the disabled, alarm system adaptations for the deaf and visually impaired and automatic doors.