We need to keep help for poor students says Mayor Boris Johnson

Payments to poor sixth formers in London could be brought back, Boris Johnson has hinted.

The Mayor urged the Government to rethink plans to scrap the education maintenance allowance, paid to hundreds of thousands of teenagers to encourage them to stay at school. He said he wanted to look again at the policy.

Education Secretary Michael Gove announced the £560 million scheme, which pays the poorest students between £10 and £30 a week to help them afford to stay at school past the age of 16, will end after this academic year.

Last year more than 600,000 youngsters received the allowance, nearly 47 per cent of 16-19-year-olds at school or college. It will be replaced with a £180 million discretionary fund, but critics said the cuts will still leave thousands unable to pay for travel and books.

Appearing on Question Time last night Mr Johnson said: "I want to have another look at this. I'm grateful for what Michael Gove did, there needed to be an evolution of the policy and I have to tell you I don't think we've seen the end of the story."

Southwark council has announced it will use £600,000 of its own money to pay students to go to college.

Mr Johnson said: "It is vitally important that we keep young people in school, not just so they receive an education but so they don't get sucked into crime."

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