Education Maintenance Allowance

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Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) (Welsh: Lwfans Cynhaliaeth Addysg; LWA) is a financial scheme applicable to students and those undertaking unpaid work-based learning in the United Kingdom aged between sixteen and nineteen whose parents have a certain level of taxable income.^[1] This applies to those doing, or applying to do, at least 12 hours of guided learning on further education courses in school sixth forms, sixth form colleges and Further Education colleges. This includes a wide range of courses up to and including level 3, such as A-levels, GCSEs, GNVQs, NVQs and other vocational qualifications. Those partaking in an E2E (Entry to Emploment course, formerly known as Work based Learning) must do at least 16 hours a week of guided study. Any missed lessons except for extenuating circumstances voids payment for that week. As of 2008^[2], the weekly payment breaks down as such:

• £30 per week for those whose household income is under £20,817 p.a.;
• £20 per week for those whose household income is between £20,818 and £25,521 p.a.;
• £10 per week for those whose household income is between £25,522 and £30,810 p.a.

Additionally, bonus payments of £100 are available to students who are in receipt of EMA. These bonuses are available in January and July of the first and second year. A total of £600 extra can be claimed in bonus payments over a maximum period of three years.^[3]

Contents 1 Benefits 2 Criticisms 3 2008 payment problems 4 Notes 5 External links

[edit] Benefits

The Labour Party claims the EMA scheme benefits greatly to teenagers from low-income households, encouraging people to stay in education past the legally required age of 16 (end of year 11; fourth year in Scotland). Once in education it encourages high attendance in return for bonuses. A 2006 BBC report suggested that even with the EMA, parents earning less than £30,000 a year still struggle to support teenagers enough to enable them to stay in education past 16.^[4]

In tests done by 56 of the 150 local education authorities in 2004, the Institute for Fiscal Studies and Loughborough University found staying-on rates improved up 5.9 percentage points among those who were eligible.^[5] This effect was most pronounced amongst boys whose parents were unemployed or employed in unskilled or semi-skilled manual jobs, the group with lowest stay-on rates, and arguably facing the most social pressure to earn money and peer pressure that education is unimportant.^{[citation needed]}

A benefit not often mentioned by the government is that the EMA can be spent on goods or services for motivational purposes. It brings equality between teenagers of different income families to be able to spend money on personal items, therefore motivating to attend school, and to carry on with their education with a more equal quality of life experienced by those from 'better off' families. ^[6]

[edit] Criticisms

The system can be abused in some instances. For example, if a student's parents are divorced, and their parents' income came to £35,000 per year before the divorce, the student in question could live with their mother, who earns £17,500 p.a. Because they only live with their mother, the household income would be the mother's wages, and not the father's.^{[citation needed]}

Another such example is where a young person living with their mother who is unemployed or earning less than the specified cut off point whilst also receiving alimony payments from her ex-husband.^{[citation needed]}

Other abuses of the system include some applicants not declaring their parent's partner, in order to lower the house hold income and that EMA does not not take into account a student's job or the actual amount of financial support students receive from their parents.^{[citation needed]}

The Conservative Party have stated their opposition to EMA. Conservative Party spokesman Chris Grayling said: "This is another blatant example of the government trying to fiddle the figures. Bribing young people to sign up for courses they may not complete, might make ministers' targets look achievable - but they do absolutely nothing to help solve this country's chronic skills shortage."^[7]

[edit] 2008 payment problems

It was reported that EMA are experiencing problems in 2008, when their computer systems and telephone lines were in technical difficulty. Liberata, EMA's administered company have reported that they have called for over 400 of their employees to process thousands of applications manually. They also warned that thousands of students in United Kingdom may not receive their allowance grants in time when they start further education. ^[8]

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• EMA Britain
• EMA Northern Ireland