The way EMA is payed out should be changed

[Alkaz]

If the thing about claiming money back or what ever, if they wanted to do anything like that the government would give the school adequate money for them to be able to pay for student trips etc.

[iAdam]

Sorry you feel than way. I guess both of your parents are working? Good salaries between them? I don't know how to say this but they try to make the least amount of students lose out on this... in a way?

Imagine if ALL family's could claim, no matter how much ex amount of money they earned. Hundreds of millions/perhaps Billions each year if this was the case, it would cost to fund the scheme.

I'm sure if everyone wanted their son/daughters to be able to claim for EMA they would allow it but they will always find a way to cover the costs of allowing it - and that will be higher taxes... which i doubt anyone would want it to go any higher.

They were, my dad lost his job in the recession and my mum is currently ill with half pay, but I still wont be able to claim it and I can't just quit the things I do. Glad you brought the taxes thing up, people don't pay it so you can waste your EMA, and it's not given to people for that.

[Hecktix]

EMA gives a lot of people the chance to go gain further qualifications they wouldn't have otherwise.

[-:Undertaker:-]

It should be scrapped, such a waste of money but it isn't bad getting £30 a week. I think the Conservatives are planning to scrap EMA so it'll be goodbye EMA sometime in 2010 I guess.

[Immenseman]

Only good thing they'll ever do.

[dbgtz]

I hope conservatives win, labour is sucking hard atm.

[Callum.]

don't even use my ema. goes into my bank account along with my work money and doesn't really get spent.

[GommeInc]

Just another poorly created system that needs to be totally scrapped and restarted. Giving students/young people money in hand is a terrible idea, they should only have transport costs and course materials given to them.

[Tash.]

Just another poorly created system that needs to be totally scrapped and restarted. Giving students/young people money in hand is a terrible idea, they should only have transport costs and course materials given to them.

The problem with that is, some people actually hand it over to their parents to help with day-to-day living costs, so handing them transport costs etc isn't going to help those families is it?

I know some people use their money on questionable things but honestly it allowed me to do things I wouldn't have been able to do without it.

[alexxxxx]

i know someone who cheats EMA so bad.

his dad earns £200k+ lives in a massive house etc. Because he's self employed and has no stable income or some bull he gets £30/week on top of the £50 he gets from his parents.

also know someone who's on EMA but somehow can afford a car. my parents give me £30/month and they think that's alot and they earn £100k between them.