What timeline can the Welsh Government provide for a review of the education maintenance allowance scheme, particularly regarding income thresholds and accessibility improvements?
In July this year, we published the report of our independent review of the Education Maintenance Allowance Scheme (EMA). We are currently considering the recommendations of the EMA review, including the recommendation that the household income threshold should be raised slightly increasing the number of eligible learners. Deliverability of the recommendations is subject to our budget setting process and announcements about any future changes to the EMA Scheme will be made after that.
Our schools and colleges work closely with their learners to ensure that they are receiving the support they're entitled to. All learners can apply for support from their college’s Financial Contingency Fund (FCF) to help with essential transport costs and we encourage learners, whose circumstances may have changed during the academic year, to speak to their school or college about applying for EMA using their current household income.
Last year we launched an electronic platform to improve the application process for learners and continue to work with the Student Loans Company and schools and colleges to raise awareness of the EMA Scheme. We remain committed to maintaining our EMA Scheme and ensuring learners are provided with the best opportunities to continue in post-16 study.