Glenda Jackson, Labour Member of Parliament for Hampstead & Kilburn, condemns the Government for all but scrapping EMA for students aged 16 – 18 from low income households.

The removal of up to £30 per week will affect 80% of recipients who come from homes where the household income is less than £20,800 a year and many of whom live very difficult lives. New research released yesterday by the University and College Lecturers Union suggested that 70% of EMA recipients will drop out of education if EMA is taken away. But more importantly, even those who do stay in college will now have to spend hours working part-time in order to fund their travel and textbooks. In the words of Andy Burnham, Shadow Secretary of State for Education, “this will mean they are unable to fulfil themselves in education because they cannot devote themselves to their study”.

The Lib Dems voted with the Conservatives in the House of Commons last night to scrap the current EMA system in favour of a new system which will be approximately a tenth the size of EMA and ½ billion pounds poorer. Furthermore, the money will go directly to colleges to administrate the grants and so much of the money will not reach students. As the final insult, the new system will come into effect from April 2011 which means that students who began a college year this September having budgeted for EMA, will now face up to 5 months without their £30 per week.

Glenda said, “as was raised many times in the debate, these savage cuts to EMA are yet another attack on those whom the Government promised, despite the financial cuts, to protect. When added to the cuts in Child Benefit, Sure Start, the Child Trust Fund and Housing Benefit, it seems this Government will allow bankers to get bonuses while the needs of the most vulnerable are ignored.