Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) Article Discussion

999

Ziggy_Stardust wrote: »

I'm sorry if this has already been answered but I've tried reading through a lot of this thread and my head is spinning

My husband has recently left work to go to university to do PGCE, obviously there is a big drop in our household income especially as I can't work as I'm a full-time carer to our eldest daughter. We saved up so that he can take this time off work but things are tight. Anyhow I rang the EMA after not hearing anything from them since our daughter's application was sent in July (I have been trying for a few weeks and either couldn't get through or was told a manager would call back but they didn't :mad:). It appears that the application form has been lost so a new one needs to be done. I also mentioned that our household income had dropped considerably but was told that assessment is only made on last year's income an they will not give my daughter any more money because even though this year's income takes us down a bracket . Is this true?

Ziggy

I am afraid it is 'probably' true. Please check previous posts for the exact rules re reassessment. You say you are a full time carer for your eldest daughter and, forgive me I am guessing here, if that is because she is disabled then there might be an opportunity for you. If so you would ask to speak to someone in EMA that specialises in Disability cases. An extract from the legislation is shown below if it helps

16. Where a young person has not been eligible to receive any EMA payment or the maximum level of weekly EMA payment on the grounds of household income but hesatisfies the conditions set out in paragraph 4, he may apply to be reassessed at any point if one or more of the following conditions are fulfilled:

a relevant person*

2 becomes disabled, as defined in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

2

any adult named on the application form as forming the household, the learner, or any sibling of the learner living in the same household as the learner".

Ziggy_Stardust

999 wrote: »

Ziggy

I am afraid it is 'probably' true. Please check previous posts for the exact rules re reassessment. You say you are a full time carer for your eldest daughter and, forgive me I am guessing here, if that is because she is disabled then there might be an opportunity for you. If so you would ask to speak to someone in EMA that specialises in Disability cases. An extract from the legislation is shown below if it helps

Yes my daughter that I'm claiming the EMA for is also getting DLA.

Where can I find all these terms and conditions? I've been searching for them today but unless I'm missing something I'm finding the direct.gov website very vague.

aaranj

:beer: YAY! JUST GOT MY 1ST PAYMENT! £30!!
just thought i'd share that

(my joy, not the money!)

Ziggy_Stardust

aaranj wrote: »

:beer: YAY! JUST GOT MY 1ST PAYMENT! £30!!
just thought i'd share that

(my joy, not the money!)

Well done, pleased for you

aaranj

Ziggy_Stardust wrote: »

Well done, pleased for you

thanks!:beer:

aaranj

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/DG_171448

i don't know if anyone has seen this but i hope it helps

bestpud

aaranj wrote: »

:beer: YAY! JUST GOT MY 1ST PAYMENT! £30!!
just thought i'd share that

(my joy, not the money!)

Thanks for sharing that!

DD will be very pleased to know EMA isn't a myth, as she is convinced it will never happen at the moment!

choccyface2006

bestpud wrote: »

Thanks for sharing that!

DD will be very pleased to know EMA isn't a myth, as she is convinced it will never happen at the moment!

Mine too! I have a few IOUs going at the moment from DD, I hope everything that is owed gets paid very soon for all of us that are waiting

However, we have had nothing from EMA, no contract or NOE so her payments may be a while off yet........

Sarah x

cyleos

When you are part of a working class family, struggling to keep up with the high financial demands of todays society and are relying on EMA to get you through the week, and it randomly appears in your bank account whenever it feels like it, then it is really hard to comply with it (and its rules).

If it came on a regular basis i.e every other monday, then i would be able to balance my funds and live with what ive got.
But when they skip weeks and add the missing payments on to others (without giving any notice of this) then it is really hard to keep track of when you are going to have money. (and when this is all that you live on then it obviusly isnt good!)

It isnt just me that finds myself in this situation fairly often as there are many other people i know who feel the same.
EMA is terribly unreliable.

Oldernotwiser

cyleos wrote: »

When you are part of a working class family, struggling to keep up with the high financial demands of todays society and are relying on EMA to get you through the week, and it randomly appears in your bank account whenever it feels like it, then it is really hard to comply with it (and its rules).

If it came on a regular basis i.e every other monday, then i would be able to balance my funds and live with what ive got.
But when they skip weeks and add the missing payments on to others (without giving any notice of this) then it is really hard to keep track of when you are going to have money. (and when this is all that you live on then it obviusly isnt good!)

It isnt just me that finds myself in this situation fairly often as there are many other people i know who feel the same.
EMA is terribly unreliable.

This year really hasn't been typical; I'm sure everyone hopes that it will be back to normal soon.