Q. What is the Sport Lancaster Access Fund?
The Sport Lancaster Access Fund is administered collaboratively by the Students’ Union and the Sports Centre to help students in financial difficulty to be able to represent the University in a Sport Lancaster Team. Ordinarily the support provided will be for the cost of the Sport Lancaster Membership prior to purchase, refunds will not be given. However, we recognise some students may face other financial barriers to participation and these will also be considered.
Q. Can anyone apply for funding or is there criteria I need to meet?
To be eligible for this fund you must:
- Be a full member of the Students’ Union and an active member of a Sport Lancaster Club.
Full members are defined within the Students’ Union ‘Membership Bye-law’ which can be found here:
https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/nusdigital/document/documents/32143/Membership_Bye-Law.pdf - Be in receipt of one or more of the following:
- A means tested Lancaster bursary
- A means tested access scholarship
Or
Have a protected characteristic under the equalities act which has resulted in you suffering additional costs to participate in a Sports Lancaster Team. Please note that this is not intended to replace the University/Students’ Union duty to make reasonable adjustments that can be requested at any time.
Or
If you do not meet these criteria but find yourself in financial hardship due to extenuating circumstances your application will also be considered
Please note that having met the above criteria, it may be necessary to prioritise the limited resources. If this is the case priority will be given to the following groups of students when deciding how to allocate the funding:
- Students with caring responsibilities
- Students from low income families
- Students with a protected characteristic (please speak to a University adviser before completing an application as other support may be more appropriate)
- Students who have entered higher education from care
- Students without sponsorship or other funding
- Students entitled to claim social security benefits
Q. How do I apply?
To apply please fill in this application:
Please note that there is a finite amount of money to distribute each year. If funds are exhausted it may mean that we have to stop taking applications. If this is the case we will make it clear to clubs as soon as possible. Any award made from the fund is given as a grant and is not repayable.
Q. I have already purchased my Sport Lancaster Membership, can I apply to the Sport Lancaster Access Fund for a refund?
No. The fund has been created to prevent the Sport Lancaster Membership being a barrier to participation, awards cannot be made retrospectively.
Q. How will I receive the funding if I am successful?
If your application is regarding the Sport Lancaster Membership you will receive an email to confirm this and any grant awarded will be arranged directly with the sports centre. Please note that we aim to process all application within 10 working days.
If you receive an award from the fund towards costs associated with a protected characteristic we will make the necessary arrangements directly with you.
Payments from this fund may affect your benefit payments. If this does happen please contact us as we may be able to provide a letter to assist you.
Q. What is the Privacy policy regarding the Sport Lancaster Access Fund?
In applying for this fund applicants consent for the Students’ Union to confirm details submitted within it with records held by the University and membership data for the respective Sport Lancaster Club.
Students’ Union and the University will keep all information relating to applications confidential and restricted to the persons involved in facilitating the decision making process. We may cross check applications made with other records held by the University and/or the Students’ Union.
Q. How do I make a complaint?
Should applicants wish to make a complaint about the Sport Lancaster Access Fund they should follow the guidelines as set out here