EMA Discussion Area

blondie1963

My 16 year old is looking to stay on this year and she does not qualify for anything which I think stinks as it is her studying at school not the parents I really dont think the parents income should come into it at all, if you stay on everyone should get the same. IT STINKS. :mad:

Gemmzie

In some ways, yes EMA is highly unfair - for example, one of my friends had it revoked this year because her mum's boyfriend moved in with them, unfair because he does not contribute to her.
Also students with seperated parents do well out of the system because it is only the people that they live with who are accounted for. As per usual.

However, if I hadn't had EMA this year I would not have been able to continue in college. Both of my parents work hard but unfortunately, wages here are awful. EMA was piloted here so I've seen how much good it can do. People come over 40 miles to my college and couldn't afford to without this help.
EMA helps people to stay in education, why is that a bad thing.

I'm still strongly on the side of means tested benefits.

hotbod

please can some one tell me why my son has to open a bank or bulidings society account ( which is best ?)
& cannot use the goverment card acount for benefits in the post office,he doesnt want to open a bank/building account & the post office is much closer.
the NS&I accounts at the post office say we can not use their acccounts because the goverment doesnt want to look like they are benefiting & cannot use card accounts because EMA is not a benefit even though it is means-tested.
confused so am i ? looks to me like young people have no choice but to open an account EMA say they have no other way of paying it , no bank account no money

hotbod

i think it should be a matter of choice whether & when one chooses to open a bank/building society account.
not to be forced by EMA or government
my son choice would be to be able to open a card account at the post office.

Savvy_Sue

hotbod wrote:

my son choice would be to be able to open a card account at the post office.

But that is a really limited account - if someone gave him money for his birthday or he earned some cash somehow, he would not be able to put it into that account.

There ARE banks which allow you to withdraw money from the Post Office - all the major ones apart from NatWest AFAIK. Definitely Alliance and Leicester, as gizmoleeds says. Also the Coop, or he could see if Smile will let him open one (they are an internet bank, and he might need to be 18).