Save EMA is a progressive political campaign. It aims to provide a voice to over half a million of the poorest young people in Britain, who face the potential loss of the vital Education Maintenance Allowance.
About EMA
The Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) is a means-tested allowance of between £10 and £30, paid to 16- to 19-year-olds who stay on in education.
Rolled out nationally in September 2004, EMA is intended to help with the cost of books, travel, equipment or anything useful to the continuation of learning. It’s paid straight into the pupil’s bank account, not their parents or their college, giving them independence and forcing them to take charge of a small weekly budget. The payments are under the condition that they attend classes regularly. If the pupil works hard or achieves good grades, there is the opportunity to earn bonuses.
EMA is available to 16-19 year olds who come from low income families and whose household’s net income is below £30,000 pa. There is an additional grant for those students from families household income is up to and below £20,000 pa. EMA currently exists all across the UK although the administering of it is devolved to the regional parliaments of Scotland and Northern Ireland.
About Save EMA
The Save EMA campaign aims to:
- Get every party to be as clear as possible about where they stand on EMA;
- Get those parties who oppose EMA to change their policy;
- Give a voice to those students currently receiving EMA to enable them to express support for it;
- Increase awareness of EMA and its benefits.
- Get a vote on EMA in parliament, so it is shown the same attention as tuition fees.
- Fight the cuts to EMA by any peaceful means possible!
About what Save EMA has achieved so far…
Save EMA was set up in Novermber 2009 to protect EMA once the school leaving age is raised to 18, and we succeeded in lobbying the previous government to commit in March 2010 to keep EMA “up to and beyond” the time the school leaving age is raised. We also managed to get David Cameron and Micahel Gove on record to also commit to supporting EMA. Then once elected we managed to get Nick Gibb, the Tory Minister responsble for EMA to commit the new government to supporting EMA.
So you can see why we are angry! Because as of October 2010 in the Comprehensive Spending Review, the Tory-led government announced plans to scrap EMA by removing 90% of it funding.
We have succeeded in raising awareness of EMA, and making it a major issue.
There was not going to be a vote on EMA like the one on tuition fees in December 2010, because its classed as departmental spending. So we lobbied the Labour party to make sure there was one by an email campaign, and we succeeded. There was a vote on EMA on 19th January 2011, although we did not win the vote, the campaign continues by other methods now there is plans a foot for a legal challenge supported by our trade union colleagues to fight the government in the courts.
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wht the hell why wuld they do this i cant live anywhere with out m ema leave it alone u stupid goverment we neeed it
EMA is of paramount importance to those from less privileged families. Scrapping the £100 bonus is a justified action to take because you shouldnt be rewarded for the sake of staying in education. What the government is seriously neglecting to address however is the major problem scrapping the scheme will cause. Thousands will simply not go to college resulting in further unemployment and people on the dole. I myself have to travel by two separate trains to simply get to college and, living in london alone my lunches cost alot as well. Textbooks are expensive and simple things such as paper, pens, notebooks and equipment are in constant need of being topped up. Being in college is allegedly called ‘full time’ education however scrapping EMA, the government is insinuating that those who cant afford to be in full time education full time will have to get part time jobs. This is not necessarily a bad thing however in this economic climate there arent many jobs going around, especially not for a non-skilled, fresh-from-school student with no previous significant experience in the working world. The thousands who will inevitably drop out or not go to college will also be looking for these same jobs, it is therefore inevitable that these job spaces will fill up very quickly. Now what do those who were unlucky in getting a job get? nothing. They will also have to drop out of school/college. scrapping EMA is clearly contradictory to the PM’s own words earlier this year saying ema would not be scrapped. A clear example of why these days the electorate do not and now I’ve realised should not trust politicians who get to have a £65,000 a year salary and flip homes left right and centre. Why should the next generation of prospective students have to pay for the problems our BANKERS cause, its absolutely horrendous. Scrapping EMA, along with higher tuition fees (well well Mr Scrap Tuition Fee Clegg) have resulted in the convservatives and liberals digging their own grave. I myself will not be voting for either of the two for definite in the next election. SAVE EMA.
My mum has three kids to raise on her own, including me. She has to pay for all three of us, not having any spare money to put in for university funds. Having the ema, allows me to start saving for my life in the future, now the government is taking that away from me.
I DONT THINK IT IS RIGHT TO STOP EMA BECAUSE THERE OUT OF ORDER TO STOP IT. BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE CANT LIVE OF NOWT BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE DONT LIVE WITH THRER PERENTS SO HOW THE HELL ARE THERE MENT TO FRIGING LIVE MANNNNNNNNNNNN SO DO NOT STOP IT ORIGHTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
david cameron is a biggott and the government is shite and they do not look after the citizens of the uk. david cameron is a dickhead and doesnt know how to do his job. he is a thieving Bastard and i am a student who recieves EMA. and david cameron should resign from office and bring someone else in who will deal with the problem reasonbly.
This is awful what they are doing the government are an absolute disgrace they should be ashamed of themselves. Us students that come from a less fortunate background will not get the chance of education that more well off families get. Therefore the rich will become richer and the poor will become poorer disguising to be honest.
When I first heard that EMA was getting axed, I never believed it, partly because I thought it was just too disgusting to be true. Now I know it’s being canceled, I’m absolutely appalled. It means I may not be able to continue my education next year, as I’m in my first year of 6th form. I am strongly against this Goverment now, and I hope he recognises this as being a very sickening decision.
i need EMA, i dont get any money off of my mum, i have to pay for my own clothes, school stuff, trips that i need to go on for c/w, if i didnt get ema, then i wouldnt be a 6th form id be looking for a job.
I need ema or i wont be able to get to and from college! this goverment sucks!!!!
withut ema i wouldent be able to travel to college!
i am currently receiving EMA so does that mean in the new year i will stop getting my weekly payments?
Life is already a struggle and this government is just making it worse for us students. EMA is so useful for many of us who are not very well off. My parents aren’t going to be able to afford giving me money to get to college and to buy for resources needed for my course, as they already have enough to pay for. Most people are going to be worst off.
I hope David Cameron soon realises that we are the future of this country, because at the moment he’s ruining alot of people’s futures.
i get the feeling people dnt like me
I honestly don’t know how I would have been able to afford college if it wasn’t for EMA. My local college is 16 miles away from home which means that i had to get a bus pass..costing around £500.
This is where the majority of my EMA went. The rest was spent on other expenses such as the many text books i needed to buy. My sociology text book cost £19 alone. Then add the cost of the other text books (£40+ £19, the cost of my bus pass (£500) and other expenses such as paper, pens, folders etc and you’re looking at about £600 a year.
I would never have been able to afford that without EMA.
I’m lucky as I leave college before the cuts, but my younger brother who started this year will have to drop out after this year. There’s no way that my family has the money for another bus pass.
SO SAVE EMA!
I live in a rural area and have to travel by bus for 1hr 30mins on the bus each day to attend the closest college. Without EMA, I know I will no longer be able to continue studying there, meaning that it is more likely that I will have to claim benefits as I will find it increasingly more difficult to get a job. Stop EMA, and you’re basically giving thousands of young people the need to claim more money from the government anyway. Bravo!
MY FATHER IS SUFFERING FROM PHYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS. MY MUM IS LOOKING AFTER MY TWO LITTLE SISTERS THERES NOONE TO WORK. I NEED THE EMA, IF I WORK AT THIS AGE I WOULDN’T EARN AS MUCH AS I NEED BECAUSE IT’S DIFFICULT TO FIND SOMEWHERE WHEN EVERYONES LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO WORK. MY MOTHER AND FATHER GET HELP FROM THE GOVERNMENT BUT AS I GROW UP I’M GOING TO HAVE TO NEED MORE MONEY AND I WOULDN’T WANT TO KEEP ASKING MY PARENTS FOR MORE. I NEED THE EMA BUT ALSO IN THIS SITUATION HOW AM I GOING TO GIVE £9.000 FOR UNIVERSITY?
EDUCATION, EDUCATION, EDUCATION < THIS IS WHY I LOVED LABOUR SO MUCH
IF THE CUTS DON'T STOP THEN THE AMOUNT OF CRIME WOULD INCREASE. CONSERVATIVE IS FORCING EVERYONE TO STAND UPON THEIR OWN FEET WITHOUT THINKING HOW.
Cameron is a total loser! He should go away living his life and not deciding to ruin thousands of teenagers life… WTF DOES HE THINK HES DOING CUTTING OFF EMA + RAISING UP UNI FEES ?!?! IS HE MAD/???? I CANT SLEEP BECAUSE OF THAT BASTARD!!!!!!!!!
S A V E E M A !!!
I am in year 12 now studying ICT and Computing, I wanted to continue in year 13, because my mum only earns around £10,000 a year the EMA supports me, and petrol for my bike getting to school, equipment, etc, this means I will have to drop out of school this September and not get my qualifications because I simply cannot afford it, the decision to axe EMA is disgusting and has affected mine and many others futures.
We have three daughters and a very low income. They are/ were all entitled to EMA. The coalition government has scrapping of clearly not thought through a the new system. At present, though we are eligible for free school meals as well, we do not claim them because we do not want to disclose our income to the school.
Schools will soon have to make difficult choices and have to administer these new payments – yet another piece of red tape. With the EMA it was straightforward to claim and I did not mind disclosing my income to an organisation where no one knew me. Perhaps the government realises this and it is a deliberate ploy.
Personally i believe that scrapping the ema scheme is a bad idea, i recieve the £30 a week, and i have to admit that without it, i wouldnt be in school half as much! its not like i dont want to learn, its just that this is my motivation to work. Also as my mam is a single parent, and lives on a low income, i belive that without my ema i wouldnt be able to get to school, or get the equipment i needed, as i know she couldnt provide for me as much as i needed!
Also i believe that the tory’s are taking money from the poorer people, as they want the rich to be richer and the poor to be more poor! Personally i belive they want a greater divide between the classes, which is wrong!!!
Also they have abolished free transport to schools, and only some are eligable, which is another example of how they wish the poor to be less educated!!
I say, “KEEP EMA” and sort out other places, where they are hemorrhaging money!!!
I know two pupils receiving EMA. Both are from single parent working families. Both of them also have jobs. Neither of these families incur any additional expenses by having their children stay at school beyond the age of 16. They receive free school transport, totally free resources in school, their uniform costs no more than it did when they were 15 and neither does their food (which they would eat even if they weren’t in school). In fact these mothers benefit by still receiving Child Benefit and maintenance payments via the CSA for the time their children are in school beyond the age of 16, when these would normally stop. So what exactly is EMA for? Paying children to stay at school? Paying children to study? Giving them £30 a week to blow on make-up and clothes? I’m not a Tory but I’m damned if I can see any fairness in this. My children have stayed on too, we don’t qualify but there’s no way I can afford to hand them £240 a month to spend as they like. No this is not fair, not even a bit.