Have Your Say on a possible replacement for EMA

Myviews_2

I am a single parent and I struggle financially with two children. My daughter got EMA and it helped us tremendously, especially as their father does not contribute financially and the CSA is not effective. My son is 15 and will not get help. That is a huge worry for me. I have had to pay for a bus pass for the last year and he isn't even 16 yet due to the council's cut in budget. I think it's ridiculous that school children have to pay bus fares just to get to and from school. The whole system definitely needs looked at.

Free bus pass at the very least would be a help.

purplepenny

The costs of administering programmes like this are a huge waste (both to colleges and central govt) and it doesn't always reach the right people anyway.

As others have said, all under 18's should be in full-time education or work and all should receive half price bus travel.

Other expenses should be covered by child benefit and tax credits for those on lower incomes.

ThinkingOfLinking

Although I would have been entitled to EMA when I was in 6th form, I chose to work and pay my own way. I have recently been horrified and disgusted to see college students working long hours alongside me in a retail environment in addition to their EMA; they have been talking about it. I think it should be one or the other.

I think though, that a free bus pass, free basic lunch and stationary vouchers would be a better use of public funds than just handing over cash with no accountability.

Oldernotwiser

gabbialice wrote: »

It's been interesting reading this. I am a tutor in FE and I see both sides but I would honestly say that it's 'abused' in over 90% of cases. In my own opinion, EMA was the worst thing to happen in Further Education. Someone said earlier that if it brought students in then it was a success, but at what price? Foul-mouthed, abusive, racist, sexist young people making the lives of others (students and staff) a misery. They are quite open about why they are at college (for the EMA) and I have also known instances (as in a previous post) where the money is taken by a parent as soon as it's paid out for 'keep'. I have also been on the receiving end of abuse from parents and their children when EMA has been withheld.

I have long been an advocate of using the student's ID card as a sort of 'credit card' whereby it can be topped up and used to buy a bus pass or pay for printing or photocopying (not always available at home) or buy lunch, all within the college itself. What it will not pay for then is a bottle of vodka or some 'green' or a night out.

The qualifying criteria is also a bit of a joke as pointed out here by a student -

EMA is odd. My mate's dad is a millionaire but he still gets EMA because he lives with his mum.

By the way, nobody has mentioned the bonuses of £100 paid out in January and July.
Sorry if this has been a bit long, it's a subject very close to my (and my colleagues) heart.

As an ex FE Lecturer I do understand what you're saying, but these sort of kids have been coming into FE since the days of YTS; staff have been complaining about it for the last 30 years!

Unfortunately, some colleges like yours haven't been using EMA as a way to control students' behaviour, a strategy which wasn't possible before. To allow students to attend, behave badly and still receive EMA wasn't the way the scheme's supposed to work.

Minimad_2

As a widow with a limited income I would qualify for the EMA if it had continued. I have a child who could go to college in the next 18 months. Without some replacement benefit I may find that I am unable to afford the travel expenses with a monthly train season ticket currently costing £101. The benefit should not be used for food or other luxuries.

How about providing a travel subsidy so the parent pays a reduced rate and the service provider reclaims the difference from the government. :question:

That way the benefit can only be used for the purpose intended.

madmurphy3

EMA was a waste of time, when I went to college I was given a bus pass and a free lunch (my mum is disabled and we lived on benefits). If EMA wasn't around our colleges would be full of kids who wanna be there rather than those who are their just for the money.

I really don't think there should be a replacement for EMA, the parents should be paid tax credit for the child up untill they leave education as is already the case, and if on benefits the child should be given a lunch.

I never understood why EMA was introduced in the first place if a 16/17 year old needs money then they should get a part-time job like me and all my friends did.

Maybe if they get rid of EMA we'd see more people returning to apprentaships and maybe then we could stop being so relient on the banks!

skipsmum

DS gets EMA. He goes to the nearest college that offers mechanics and bus fare is £7 per day. He goes in 4 days a week, and has a work placement on the 5th day for which bus fare is £8.20. He has a pass that entitles him to half fares - but only after 9am which is useless for a 9am start! In half terms he works 5 days at the work placement. We paid his course costs (£260) but £36.20 a week for travel is a ridiculous amount for us to have to find - he uses the EMA towards it but we would be happy with a free or subsidised bus pass.

buzzard

The idea of EMA was to keep children in education when they didn't need to be there by providing them with a small payment as a partial substitute for the wages their friends would receive. So it was legitimate to spend it on anything - as their friends could spend their wages on anything. At my child's school it was mainly spent on fares to school, residential trips deemed "essential" by the school, materials (not free in English schools) and the lucky ones who lived close to the school maybe could save a bit towards their university fees. If one or two bought a gig ticket - why not if it encourages them to get qualifications and save the taxpayer funding benefit at 18.

Child benefit and tax credits go on feeding and clothing a child and helping with the heating bills. School uniform is expensive and teenage food/clothing costs are comparable to an adults. Our school does have second-hand clothing sales, and sells stationery at cost. That is essential - but it isn't always possible to find the right clothing sizes when needed.

Part-time jobs are considerably harder to find than when I was a teenager. Government regulations mean very few places will take anyone under 16 and the opportunites for those over 16 are limited.

Since the government has decided to abolish it they need to provide some support for transport costs, material costs and essential school trips for those families who value education but struggle to support their children.

The school leaving age may have been raised but suggesting that is enough to keep children in school is naive in the extreme. Some will abscond at the first opportunity and be hanging around the streets making a nuisance of themselves or looking to raise money from burglaries and drug deals. If students do not get EMA they should be allowed to seek work, not be forced to stay in education.

Katie10

EMA should deffinately be scrapped, when I was in college I went for my own welfare and didn't get EMA not because we were rich... but because only 2 of the 4 dependent children were seen as "kids" and because my dad had a company car.
So I got a job to pay my way in a cafe, there are plenty of part time jobs if you look for them...
I found the people on EMA who appreciated and wanted educating would have gone without it whilst there were many who didn't want to be there who took it an failed there exams so bounced off into further colleges, my friend who is now 21 is still in college now gettin adults maintainance grant no doubt... the same happens with university people who shouldn't be there are encouraged with money and bounce around until they finally decide to take advantage of the education thery're given.

If theres going to be a replacement I suggest a free bus pass for those a certain distance away from college, that should be the only barrier to education and even then.. why not walk? I'd have walked the 1hour bust trip if need be...

clarkekerry

Many pupils, when interviewed, claimed that they would not be able to travel to school once the EMA was stopped. The government could "kill" several birds with this one stone. Issue all secondary school children with free bus passes. This would finance them, or more likely their parents, throughout their school years, stop the waste of EMA being spent on "luxuries", reduce congestion and greenhouse gases, and if negotiated correctly help to subsidise country buses and stop their cancellation. Any misbehaviour on the bus would result in the pass being withdrawn. The government would only be charged when the pass was used, like the Oyster system, so rich kids who travel by car don't receive anything, and if the pupil does not go to school likewise no charge.