Thousands more post 16 learners in colleges and sixth forms will
receive the Education Maintenance Allowance following a Welsh
Government decision to uplift the household income thresholds
resulting in more families being able to apply.
Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) is a weekly grant of £40,
designed to support 16 to 18-year-olds from eligible
households with further education costs, such as transport or
meals. EMA was ended in England in 2011, and is retained at a
lower rate of £30 in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Currently over 16,000 students receive EMA but starting from the
new academic year in September an estimated 3,500 more learners
will benefit from the uplift.
The threshold for households with one dependent child is
currently £20,817 and this will increase to
£23,400, meaning families with a household
income of £23,400 or less will be eligible to receive EMA.
The threshold for households with two or more dependents is
currently £23,077 and this will increase to
£25,974,meaning families with a household income
of £25,974 or less will be eligible to receive EMA.
Minister Further and Higher Education, , said: “Wales
already delivers the most generous Education Maintenance
Allowance in the UK, helping post-16 learners to continue
studying academic or vocational courses, and this change means we
will now be supporting thousands more learners.
“We are very proud of our record in maintaining and increasing
the Education Maintenance Allowance. We are clear that our
Draft Budget is a budget for a brighter future and the uplift to
EMA eligibility is one of the ways we are delivering this. The
announcement means thousands more learners will now benefit from
further financial support to continue or start their further
education journey.”
Deio Owen, President of NUS Cymru, said: "NUS
Cymru welcomes the Minister's announcement today. Raising
the household income threshold for EMA will enable more than 3500
young people to engage with post-16 learning. That's 3500
young people that we will now hopefully see continue with their
education and continue to equip themselves for a better future.”,
said Deio Owen, President of NUS Cymru.
“We have been campaigning for this for quite some time, and we
are delighted that the Welsh Government have finally listened to
student voices. I look forward to working ever closer with
the Minister in the coming months on areas where we can further
strengthen the student offer in Wales."
