2008/09 EMA article discussion

aaranj

For those of you who are caught in the backlog, don't worry! EMA does really exist! i got my first payment of £30 2 weeks ago. i get my next tommorow. just keep waiting, it will come! eventuently

martinlewisfanclub

Not sure of details but a friend of mine, single, full-time working mum, 2 kids at secondary school entitled to working tax credits and possibly other bits.
Older child turns 16 and is given £30 to stay on at school which she would have done anyway. She spends it on make up and sweets. Mum loses her benefits for this child but has the same outgoings for said stroppy teenager as she did when she was 15. Family tensions are running a bit high.

silvercar

martinlewisfanclub wrote: »

Not sure of details but a friend of mine, single, full-time working mum, 2 kids at secondary school entitled to working tax credits and possibly other bits.
Older child turns 16 and is given £30 to stay on at school which she would have done anyway. She spends it on make up and sweets. Mum loses her benefits for this child but has the same outgoings for said stroppy teenager as she did when she was 15. Family tensions are running a bit high.

Mum shouldn't lose benefits for a 16 year old still in education eg child benefit continues to be paid throughout sixth form.

silvercar

stub451 wrote: »

I pay myself a small salary as a contractor, (£9000) and the remainder through dividends. My wife earns about £8000.

Do my dividends count towards the EMA limit?

I would think dividends would count. They are income and appear as such on your tax return. The fact they are outside the PAYE system shouldn't make a difference to EMA.

chuckie8888

hi. first time I have ever done anything like this but this EMA really angers me. This payment to some and not to others really is unfair. My sons go to school and I cant afford to give them £30 a week to study but their mates get it from the government.. It is discrimination!! I have twins and they are studying A levels. Our income is to high for one child to get anything but if split between two then they would get the full £30 each. The system do not take into consideration that there are two children from the same family staying on in sixth form. Our income is taken into consideration as one total for each child instead of splitting it in half and basing the award as a half for each application. HOW UNFAIR IS THAT! When they go to university the income is split evenly between each child when applying for loans so the same rule should apply here. Sorry if I rant but It is so unfair and it is very frustrating. Maybe we should become a disfunctional family. We would certainly be better off!! Does anyone know any different?
thanks for reading this anyway.

kelvinhanratty

chuckie8888 wrote: »

This payment to some and not to others really is unfair. My sons go to school and I cant afford to give them £30 a week to study but their mates get it from the government.. It is discrimination!! I have twins and they are studying A levels. Our income is to high for one child to get anything but if split between two then they would get the full £30 each. The system do not take into consideration that there are two children from the same family staying on in sixth form. Our income is taken into consideration as one total for each child instead of splitting it in half and basing the award as a half for each application. HOW UNFAIR IS THAT! When they go to university the income is split evenly between each child when applying for loans so the same rule should apply here. Sorry if I rant but It is so unfair and it is very frustrating. Maybe we should become a disfunctional family. We would certainly be better off!! Does anyone know any different?
thanks for reading this anyway.

I don't think that it is discrimination, for one there is no prejudice which is a large proponent underlying the definition of discrimination.

EMA is a grant, not a loan, so cannot be compared to the Higher Education system, as it is easier to "give" more money out when it will be paid back. I don't feel that it is unfair either, as there are very clear criteria that need to be met in order for a student to receive the funds - it's not subjective, ensuring consistency in how the public funds are distributed. The pot is not unlimited, so they had to draw the line somewhere.

You mention that you have several children, but earn too much for your children to receive EMA ... turn the situation on its head - if you find it hard to find money for your children, imagine what it must be like for a family that earns a low income? EMA and ALG and other funding options are designed to allow those on a low income to be able to access education, rather than falling at the first hurdle.

Whilst I can empathise with your situation, you have to appreciate that you have more income than a lot of families out there. That's not to make light of the fact that you find things hard.

I wish that these were available when I went to college ... I had to really struggle, as my mother earned less than £6,000 per year.

chuckie8888 wrote: »

Maybe we should become a disfunctional family. We would certainly be better off!!

You'll certainly not curry favour with such a abhorrent attitude, I may come from a supposedly 'dysfunctional' family, but I can at least spell. Last time I checked, my family functioned perfectly well, thank you. Pfft.

kelvinhanratty

There's also nothing stopping young people finding a small part-time job. An obvious option perhaps, however all too many people expect things handed to them on a plate.

tomgman

kelvinhanratty wrote: »

There's also nothing stopping young people finding a small part-time job. An obvious option perhaps, however all too many people expect things handed to them on a plate.

I have a part time job. On £3.50 an hour. I have to work my socks off for 8.5 hours just to get the £30 that a lot of students get just for going to 6th form! I have to work hard at 6th form for 25 hours a week and then give up my whole Saturday to work to earn any money. I have to work really hard, practically on minimum wage, just so i can buy all my stuff for 6th form. You wouldn't think it, but a student has to buy a lot, this is what i have had to get so far;

Textbooks (Sociology - £15.99, ICT - £8.99, Economics - £21.99, History - £0)
School Subs (£10)
Locker (£5)
General (Pens, pencils, highlighters, bags, folders, wallets, refill pads) £20+

It's a joke that people say the system is fair. The government is willing to pay £30 a week to some, so they can buy all that and go and socialize. When i have to work my ruddy socks off to buy all that. If i quit work i could do better in school, but then i wouldn't be able to buy the stuff i NEED.

kelvinhanratty

I think that it is commendable that you are out there working and earning some money to pay your way.

Personally, I think that young people like yourself are short-changed a bit with the minimum wage at your age. Money doesn't go particularly far these days, however that's another issue.

I would suggest referring to my earlier post - search google for "EGAS" which should hopefully provide you with more options for funding, or other places to look for assistance.

It's unfortunate that your parents fall outside of the income bracket for EMA and I do agree with you about some wasting the money that they're given - however the majority do use it for its intended purpose.

I feel that it would be better being directly allocated towards the purchase of travel passes and for books (not quite sure how that could be set up, though). The current set up does have some element of trust with the young person to spend it as intended.

In some cases, this is the first time that a young person with have money of their own to spend, so of course some will not spend it wisely. However, it hopefully is the first step in appreciating the value of money and having an allowance of their own, which might need to be budgeted. This is something that needs to be looked at by both schools/colleges and parents in conjunction with the young person.

I heard that there was talk of including money management in college, but am not sure if this got off the ground?

chuckie8888

kelvinhanratty wrote: »

I don't think that it is discrimination, for one there is no prejudice which is a large proponent underlying the definition of discrimination.

EMA is a grant, not a loan, so cannot be compared to the Higher Education system, as it is easier to "give" more money out when it will be paid back. I don't feel that it is unfair either, as there are very clear criteria that need to be met in order for a student to receive the funds - it's not subjective, ensuring consistency in how the public funds are distributed. The pot is not unlimited, so they had to draw the line somewhere.

You mention that you have several children, but earn too much for your children to receive EMA ... turn the situation on its head - if you find it hard to find money for your children, imagine what it must be like for a family that earns a low income? EMA and ALG and other funding options are designed to allow those on a low income to be able to access education, rather than falling at the first hurdle.

Whilst I can empathise with your situation, you have to appreciate that you have more income than a lot of families out there. That's not to make light of the fact that you find things hard.

I wish that these were available when I went to college ... I had to really struggle, as my mother earned less than £6,000 per year.



You'll certainly not curry favour with such a abhorrent attitude, I may come from a supposedly 'dysfunctional' family, but I can at least spell. Last time I checked, my family functioned perfectly well, thank you. Pfft.

Sorry that my 1 spelling mistake got up your nose so badly but some of us didn't have the luxury of going to college like you and getting a better education due to the fact that if I didn't work then I had no money. I didn't have the luxury of EMA or dole money (I wouldn't have stooped that low anyway) or a family to fall back on. What is your problem? I voiced my opinion and a valid one at that. Is it a case of 'dont agree with kelvinhanratty then you are not allowed to post'!! Last time I looked this is a 'money expert' site not the 'kelvinhanratty show'.
And do I detect racial undertones with your comment 'You'll certainly not curry favour with such a abhorrent attitude'?Maybe all that tax payers money spent on educating you would be put to better use elsewhere instead of sitting in front of your computer day and night being arguementitive to others who just voice their opinion. Afterall this a democracy we live in isnt it???

P.S Even when the uni system was a grant system rather than a loan system they still took into account others in the family and divided the income accordingly.