EMA to go?

liney

bestpud wrote: »

You should still be receiving Child tax credit and child benefit for your daughter...? Are you not getting them?

I agree Bestpud

I would suggest instead of leaving college the daugher gets a part time job, which this time of year are more common for Christmas and may lead onto something more permanent, otherwise you will both be worse off as you will lose the CTC and CB too.

Madmonk

It's great to tell all these students to go and get part-time jobs but in some areas part-time jobs are in short supply! As they are being taken by adults needing them! And some people need child tax credit and child benefit to keep the household budget in the black! In my view it's a very short sighted decision that will cause many families real problems!

MM

Oldernotwiser

Madmonk wrote: »

It's great to tell all these students to go and get part-time jobs but in some areas part-time jobs are in short supply! As they are being taken by adults needing them! And some people need child tax credit and child benefit to keep the household budget in the black! In my view it's a very short sighted decision that will cause many families real problems!

MM

CB/CTC are given for the child's maintenance and not for general household expenditure, which is why they stop when a child leaves non advanced education and is expected to be at work, supporting him/herself. Also it's only existed for 6 years so perhaps people shouldn't have become so dependent on it so quickly.

It does seem a shame that it should be withdrawn before the age increase but at least people have a year to prepare for it. Leaving education and making your family worst off isn't really going to help anything and would be a very short sighted policy.

Wicked_witch

I am not 100% against EMA going as there is no doubt that it is being abused by many people who are able to declare a low income when they in fact have a fairly high one. I am troubled by the vagueness of 'targeted funding' though. Will it target groups of people who are in need due to low incomes, in which case it isn't the end of the world? Or will it be funnelled to 'deprived areas', in which case many students in genuine need will miss out.

I can't pretend this isn't a blow for us. My son is a talented musician (honestly, not just boasting, lol) and we have made big sacrifices over the years to ensure that he got private music lessons and a decent- though by no means extravagant- instrument to play on, as well as coving the extras like guitar strings and maintenance. He is now finally able to cover these costs himself (ie, using the ema for its actual purpose, since he is studying music full time at college) and it has been such a relief to have a little more flexibility in our weekly budget! I didn't even realise until reading this thread that EMA was going at all before the school leaving age rises (and I'll leave my opinion on that debacle for another day, lol...). Should perhaps add here that my husband is disabled and I am his carer, hence the financial struggling!

Edited to also add that my son will be staying at college for the full duration of the course, even if I have to sell my husband's body to ensure this ;-)

Madmonk

I'm sorry but many families don't have the luxury of using ctc/cb just for the "maintenance" of their children, and surely using it too help pay for rent,gas,elec,ct etc is part of a childs "maintenance" anyway!

MM

Oldernotwiser

Madmonk wrote: »

I'm sorry but many families don't have the luxury of using ctc/cb just for the "maintenance" of their children, and surely using it too help pay for rent,gas,elec,ct etc is part of a childs "maintenance" anyway!

MM

Of course it is, although not the main part. However, if it's that essential to the family budget, how will they manage if the child leaves education and they lose the money?

You can't have it both ways - it's either essential to the family budget or it isn't!

Wicked_witch

I understand your point MM, but if you are using the money to pay for general household expenses then where does it leave you when ctc and cb are gone? If your child can't find a job, or goes away to university and so is not contributing to the household? I'm certainly not suggesting your feelings are incorrect, but we all need to be looking towards that future and working out how to cope with it. I can't pretend I'm remotely happy that my family, or any other poor families, get to be penalised for the excessive spending of others, which is why I have already written to Cameron, Clegg and my local MP. My suggestion is that we all make our positions known to them and start campaigning to ensure that the new way of funding does not leave our children at a disadvantage.

Racheya

I've never liked EMA. I didn't get it because my family literally earned JUST over the limit to get it in the years that they go off (not the current tax year, where my dad had a different, worse job!). It was such bull and everyone I knew who had it just used it as cash to do whatever with. We never even had to BUY books!

I'm glad that EMA is being scrapped since it's just too much, but I heard a more targeted system is going to be coming into play. I'd like to see minimised payments, no bonuses (obviously) or maybe something like a free bus/rail ticket and free dinners at the college canteen? That solves transport/food issues!

Wicked_witch

'I never liked EMA because I didn't get it and now everyone else can suffer hahahaha ner ner' isn't really a compelling argument for either side of the issue I'm afraid.

poet123

As a tutor who listens to the conversations of my students as I sign the EMA forms, I can estimate that at least 75% of them have it as pocket money rather than use it for fares, books, lunches in college etc.