Education Maintenance Allowances scrapped by Tory government

The long-standing EMA scheme will soon be replaced by a new plan by the Cameron government, intended on providing a more targeted financial support to students in need, encouraging them to continue their educational path.

The previous arrangement through the Education Maintenance Allowances meant low-income students were granted £30 a week in a budget allocation totalling more than £550m. The Labour opposition is regretting the change, with Andy Burnham calling the new support scheme a “humiliating climbdown” that unnecessarily replaces what he thinks was a successful policy. The old allowances had originally been brought on by the former Labour executive as they sought to bring down the high number of teenage drop-outs from education.

The new bursary scheme will only drain a third of the old budget for allowances and will attempt to give greater help to severely disadvantaged teens, like pupils in care or the gravely disabled. An additional £165m will be allocated directly to colleges and schools, who will have discretion in supporting low-income students with subsidies for transport, food and educational materials.

The scheme will gradually be introduced, with students who started courses in 2009-10 continuing to receive the same payments until the end of the 2011-12 academic year.

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