Scrapping EMA

[TrollinaTrollpants]

will poor people really miss it?

Here post 16s don't get free bus travel to school and it costs my 17 year old £3.50 per day to get to the catchment school. Some of his friends use EMA cash to buy extra lunch as free school meal money doesn't provide much food.

I have 3 DS born 93, 97 and 97. I can't wait for ConDems to come knocking on my door asking for my vote. They'll be wanting DS vote too soon!

no frree transport for collage here its adult fairs

fares even

One DS was born in 1995 not twins in 97!

no free dinner either if there at collage so infact the £30 only covers his bus fair , his dinner , books, equipment all come out of Cb etc

EMA is badly thought out as most of the kids I know who get it spend the money on having a good time rather than on their education. I'm sure there are many people whose education benefits from the extra money so the resources should be better focussed towards those who really need it.

yes but not everybody nocake and haven spoken to the collage they admit the critera is going to be even tougher next year and despite ds1 being entitled to full amount and has had perfect attendence no gurantee he will get any help

I dont think we should have the EMA at all, we shouldnt be paying 6th formers to attend classes.

I thought it was being scraped at the end of this term. I'm sure like all benefits some lied in order to get it, but it is hard on teens from poorer families......I don't know of anyone who spent it on driving lessons or going out. Like I said above in rural areas post 16s used it for bus fares to school. I have never understood why DC get a free bus pass until the end of GCSEs and then if they want to stay on they have to pay adult fares on service buses. And to rub it in they often stand to let OAPs (who pay nothing!) sit down.

No it's at the end of this academic year.

Must admit I was surprised by some of the opinions around EMA when it first came out that it was for the chop. Seemed like a lot of jealousy and resentment from people who have an income of over £30,000 who's DC's couldn't get it.

I would gladly swap with them tbh. We wouldn't need it if we had that sort of money coming in.

I thought it was going to be available on a discretionary basis via schools?

agree nocake it didn't seem well targeted.

people DH went to university with who received it said they just spent in on booze and spliff - and would have done A levels anyway. £30 a week for kids that live at home and can walk to school....?

Grimma, this government has put a bit of money into schools which is a fraction of the EMA budget which afaik is to help families who get FSM for DC's (of all ages) to have access to after school activites, school trips etc. Which is fine if you qualify, you need to go with the begging bowl but could wangle a free ski trip to France etc, but again hard working families where money is tight lose out.

Basically there are spouting on about targetted help when what they really mean is another cut.

They are really sticking the boot in for some kids, literally!

Well my DD doesn't spend it on spliffs and booze, cocaine maybe .

Well it's going so all the begrudgers must be chuffed. Not that you are going to benefit from it but there you go.

EMA isn't 'paying students to attend classes', it's meant to cover expenses including travel and meals, which would have been free for this low income group when they were at school. Colleges will have some money they can give out to cases where there is hardship. It will be about 5% of what has been available as EMA, so it really will have to be for emergencies and to cover educational visits and such for those who can't afford them. When all these students who can't afford college without EMA drop out of education, they will cost us more in welfare.

Unsure really, DS1 has just started Uni but when he was in 6th form he just missed out. We're fractionally over the EMA threshold but also had 3 other siblings to support. Both DH and I worked. Other boy just down the road, only child, parents just under the threshold, less than 1k difference in earnings, he got EMA. Bearing in mind no free transport so we had to find either £800 per year for bus (1 out in am, 1 back in eve) or £850 for train with slightly more flexibility for after colege activities.
Don't begrudge that boy his money but wish it had been means tested, we had to raid DS's uni fund that we saved for 10 or more years. Not lots, just what we could afford, but loosing that money twice over 2 college years was a big dent in what we could give to help him now.

I can see why people think it's a ridiculous waste of money but it was a great incentive to turn up to college for my DD and she is now at Uni doing well.

I believe some of the thinking behind it was that it is better and cheaper to give an allowance for kids to go to college, than to pay them dole money to do nothing.

Riven, sorry to hear about DS's plans, it's a complete bummer when these things affect our DC's future like this. And your other DC did so well A levels this year, (same results thread as me.)

In my expereince as a Benefit Advisor it seems to start young people off on a sense of entitlement at a young age. I work with a lot of familesi whose children get it and none of them has a weekend or evening job. Most of the kids I know who don't get it all work or are actively looking for work.

At my daughter's college those with EMA also get a meal card to use in the canteen worth £3 a day and free bus pass which can be used on evenings and weekends.

There's no way lots of working families can compete with that.
£30 EMA, £15 Lunch money and £15 Bus fares. That's £60 a week, £240 a month.

No free dinners or bus passes here ..full adult fares from 16 ..I hate the, well my dcs don't get it so why should yours resentment ..We are a working family

Yep the EMA pays ds's busfares and lunch money..always the poor that suffer ..fucking tories