The Welsh government has announced an increase to the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) household income threshold that will benefit thousands of Welsh students. The allowance is intended to help students manage the costs of studying in further education and sixth-form: 16,000 students already receive it. The threshold has been frozen since 2010, but from September it is set to rise, which will allow an additional 3,500 students to benefit. While many students spend their grant on essentials such as stationery and revision materials, others occasionally use the payments to buy food.
The increase to household annual income thresholds comes in response to a report by the Welsh government highlighting a fall in the number of students claiming the benefit in recent years. According to the report, 41% of the 16-to-18-year-old student population claimed the EMA in 2015-16, while the percentage had dropped to 15% by 2022-23. From next academic year, families with one dependent will qualify if their income is less than £23,400, while the sum for households with two or more dependents will rise to £25,974.
Head of Coleg y Cymoedd, Jonathan Morgan, believes the increase will encourage more students from lower economic backgrounds to continue their education, though he added that there is still work to do to address the costs facing students. Morgan warned that many students could lose free transport because of council policy changes.
The EMA is a means-tested fortnightly payment of £80 given to 16 to 18-year-olds who are in education after the compulsory school-leaving age. The allowance helps cover expenditures for academic or vocational courses such as GCSEs, BTEC, basic skills and A-Levels. A student’s sixth form or college can assist with the application process. The allowance increased from £30 to £40 per week in 2023.
Victoria Winckler of the anti-poverty think tank the Bevan Foundation welcomed the increase but believes it’s only the first step, adding that devolved grants and allowances should be reviewed regularly. Wales’ Minister for Further and Higher Education, Vikki Howells, called the changes to EMA a “really generous package” and wanted to review the rules annually. She admitted that travel costs were a significant challenge for many young people, endorsing improvement of the transport infrastructure to assist learners in traveling to their schools and colleges
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