The specialist equipment payment is to help you buy the items and specialist software which have been recommended for you on your Needs Assessment Report (NAR).
The payment will be made to your designated bank account after your Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) award letter is sent to you.
If you've not started your course, payment will be made shortly after you've officially enrolled and we've received the Confirmation of Student Attendance (COSA) form from your university.
The payment is provisionally made.
Receipts
You must upload your receipts to your NHS Bursary account to show you've purchased the recommended equipment within 2 months of receiving the payment.
Receipts will be processed within 10 working days.
If the receipts are not received within 2 months of the payment being made, we'll ask you for the money back.
The receipts must show a payment has been made. An invoice showing payment is due will not be sufficient.
Lost receipts
If you've lost your receipts, contact your equipment supplier for duplicates.
If they'll not issue duplicate receipts and you've kept copies, send these to us with a covering letter explaining the originals have been lost or sent but have not been received and the reason why duplicates are not available.
If you've not kept copies, send a bank or credit card statement confirming the payment to the supplier. You must send a covering letter explaining the originals have been lost or sent but have not been received and the reason why duplicates are not available.
Supplier
You must use the supplier on your DSA award letter.
If you want to use a different supplier, make sure they can supply you with the equipment and any software which meets the recommended specifications outlined in your NAR.
Equipment
If you've been recommended software, the equipment you purchase must be able to run this software. If it does not run the software, the cost of this equipment may be recovered from you.
If you choose to purchase a higher specification computer or laptop than the one recommended for you, we may recover the whole amount paid to you.
This is because although you may need more than an entry-level computer or laptop to use the specialist software which has been recommended for you, a computer or laptop has been recommended solely for that purpose.
If the equipment you choose to purchase is more expensive than the equipment recommended for you in your NAR, you’ll be expected to pay the difference in costs yourself.
If the equipment costs less, you must return the remaining allowance. If the receipts you send show you’ve been overpaid for specialist equipment, the difference in costs must be repaid to us.
Amounts of money quoted for each item of specialist equipment on your NAR are not transferable to another.
Insurance or extended warranty costs
You can use the specialist equipment payment to pay for insurance or extended warranty costs from owning the equipment. Your NAR usually indicates an amount for this purpose.
If this was not paid to you as part of your specialist equipment package but was recommended in your NAR, reimbursement will be made to you after you send us original receipts showing the payments you've made.
It's recommended you insure your specialist equipment as the obligation is on the student to make sure the equipment is covered by warranty and insurance for the duration of study.
If you do not have the appropriate insurance, any replacement or repair of equipment must be funded by yourself.
We do not cover for:
- loss
- damage
- theft
Training
If you need training on the use of your specialist equipment such as assistive technology training so you can effectively use any software that's been recommended for you, these costs will be met through the DSA.
The company providing the training must invoice us directly for these costs.