New youth bursary scheme attacked

Ministers faced criticism over the way the Education Maintenance Allowance was scrapped
12 April 2012

The Government has come under attack for the way it introduced a new bursary scheme designed to help the poorest teenagers stay in education.

Ministers also faced criticism from the Education Select Committee over the way the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) was scrapped.

The EMA, a weekly payment of between £10 and £30 given to the poorest teenagers to help them stay in education, was controversially scrapped by ministers earlier this year.

In a new report on 16-19-year-olds in education an training, the cross-party group of MPs said a change to financial support for this age group was "inevitable".

The report says it is difficult to assess the benefits and improvements in pupils staying in education due to the EMA, but adds: "We would have welcomed a more measured and public analysis by the Government before it took the decision to abolish the EMA.

"The Government should have done more to acknowledge the combined impact on students' participation, attainment and retention, particularly amongst disadvantaged sub-groups, before determining how to restructure financial support."

The Committee also raised concerns that over the way a new bursary scheme, designed to replace the EMA, was introduced.

The Government allocated funding to teenagers for 2011/2012 far too late to allow these youngsters to make informed decision about their education, the report said.

"Allocations of funding for student support through the bursary scheme for 2011-12 have been made far too late to allow Year 11 students to make fully informed decisions on what they will do the following year.

"The Government misjudged the scale of support necessary when announcing the abolition of the EMA, and precious months were lost while it revised its plans and consulted on the bursary proposals."

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