Is EMA Fair???

Oldernotwiser

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

Perhaps the family was not so well off last year? The figures for working families are based upon the previous year's income after all (as you well know) and perhaps the family income was under £20,817 until then?
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Except that you don't get reassessed for EMA if your income drops.

I think you're OTT on the confidentiality issue - no names have been issued and mentioning the Official Secrets Act is irrelevant.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

But...if it were the first year for EMA, the lower income level would stand for the next 3 years?

Getting in touch with the DSS would be naming names, after all.

The OSA is an example, as was my work being privy to medical records - confidentiality is taken more seriously by some than others. I take it seriously. I hope anyone I deal with does the same.

rev_henry

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Except that you don't get reassessed for EMA if your income drops.

I think you're OTT on the confidentiality issue - no names have been issued and mentioning the Official Secrets Act is irrelevant.

Erm, yes you do. If income drops you can get reassessed but if it goes up they won't give you less money. Bizarre but that's how it works.

looby75

rev_henry wrote: »

Erm, yes you do. If income drops you can get reassessed but if it goes up they won't give you less money. Bizarre but that's how it works.

that's true, my nephew couldn't get EMA last september as both his parents were working and their income was just above the upper limit, BIL was made redundant last year which meant the household income was below the limit so he reapplied in August and was awarded £20 a week.

BIL has recently been lucky enough to find another job so their income is now again over £32k. They phoned EMA to inform them and were told it doesn't matter, once EMA has been awarded it's awarded for the full length of the course, unless your income drops in which case you can reapply for the start of the next academic year.

Oldernotwiser

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

But...if it were the first year for EMA, the lower income level would stand for the next 3 years?
.

No, you're assessed on a year by year basis, on the previous year's income. If someone's income drops then the next year's assessment will take this into account.

Oldernotwiser

rev_henry wrote: »

Erm, yes you do. If income drops you can get reassessed but if it goes up they won't give you less money. Bizarre but that's how it works.

From the IOW council website

"Question: What happens if my household income drops this year - will my Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) be re-assessed?
Answer: There are some family circumstances which could affect a student's eligibility and entitlement to an EMA. This means their EMA might be re-assessed for that year. These are:
• The death of the student's parent(s) or carer(s)
• If the student becomes estranged from their parent(s) or carer(s), and is then in receipt of
Income Support
• The student themselves becomes a parent and has care of their child.
If you've applied for EMA and you're affected by any of the above, call the telephone the student help line on 0808 1016219. The Application and Payment Body (APB) will then initiate the re-assessment procedure. Parents, carers or Connexions PAs can act on behalf of students if necessary. "

Edit: See also this article from the BBC.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/working_lunch/8079320.stm

percymoneysaver

_when_I_was_working_at_a_hospital,_if_I_were_to_contact_them_to_tell_them_a_woman_was_claiming_benefit_as_a_widowed_mother_when_the_baby's_father_was_actually_someone_completely_different. wrote:

..er, forgive me if I'm wrong JoJo, but isn't that breaching someone's confidentiality? (according to what you've been saying, anyway.)

If_you_were_to_be_a_patient_anywhere_I_worked,_I_am_sure_you_would_be_quite_unhappy_if_I_were_discussing_your_sexual_history_or_your_partner's_medical_condition_that_they_have_decided_they_did_not_wish_you_to_know_about wrote:

.

quite frankly, I wouldn't care what you went home and told your partner about my medical condition as long as you didn't mention me by name and there was no way they could find out who I am. I have no way of knowing who the student is, I don't work where they study, I don't know if they are male or female, I only know which sixth form they happen to be at purely because it's the one my friend works at. I have so little detail about the student that you could in fact be right, the student's parents may well have earned less than the EMA threshold last year and therefore they are fully entitled to it - although if that is the case it seems particularly cheeky claiming it this year if they are earning well over that now. That's one of the reasons I posted this situation in the first place, as I couldn't see how it wasn't benefit fraud, and neither could my friend, and you've actually given us pause for thought.

rev_henry

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

From the IOW council website

"Question: What happens if my household income drops this year - will my Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) be re-assessed?
Answer: There are some family circumstances which could affect a student's eligibility and entitlement to an EMA. This means their EMA might be re-assessed for that year. These are:
• The death of the student's parent(s) or carer(s)
• If the student becomes estranged from their parent(s) or carer(s), and is then in receipt of
Income Support
• The student themselves becomes a parent and has care of their child.
If you've applied for EMA and you're affected by any of the above, call the telephone the student help line on 0808 1016219. The Application and Payment Body (APB) will then initiate the re-assessment procedure. Parents, carers or Connexions PAs can act on behalf of students if necessary. "

Edit: See also this article from the BBC.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/working_lunch/8079320.stm

Yes, so if your income drops you can be reassessed but if it goes up they won't reassess and give you less.

Oldernotwiser

rev_henry wrote: »

Yes, so if your income drops you can be reassessed but if it goes up they won't reassess and give you less.

You must be reading a different article from the one I am! It clearly states that there are only three circumstances in which EMA might be reassessed and a parent losing his/her job isn't one of them.

The BBC article also specifically addresses the issue of parental redundancy and explains that this won't happen.

How on earth did you come to your conclusion from the information I supplied?

rev_henry

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/14To19/MoneyToLearn/EMA/DG_066955

Its all there on the directgov official EMA site:
'The ‘EMA guarantee’ means you automatically get EMA payments at the same rate for up to three years, even if your household income goes up. This applies up to the year in which you reach 19.
So if you got EMA last year, you weren’t doing an e2e programme and your circumstances haven’t changed, you don’t need to complete a form for 2009/2010. Just enrol at your learning provider for 2009/10, and you’ll continue to get your EMA payments.'



'You’ll need to fill in a 2009/10 application form if:

• you haven’t applied for EMA before – or you weren’t entitled to it in 2008/09, but think you might be now
• you got EMA for 2008/09, but you think you may be entitled to a higher level of support this year because your household income circumstances have changed'