Should EMA Stay?

[PaulMacC]

Should it, I know people who actually use it properly for bus fares, lunches etc but I know others that save it up for a Saturday night and buy booze with it.

[Chaos]

Yeh but u cant get rid of it just because some people waste it on drink and going out.

Some people need the money to get to college otherwise they wouldnt be able to go.

[J0SH]

Would make a good debate if it was even going anywhere..

[Ajax.]

Yeah, its helpful maybe put it into voucher form to stop the partyers?

[Clowgon]

Of course it should stay!

Before EMA was introduced people who left school just decided to be lazy dozy loser's and just sign on. Now they have changed the signing on w/e to 18 so it encourages young people to further their education by going to college.

They just basically introduced the £30PW to encourage young ppl to go to College.

£30 A week is really good, we are very lucky as i know in same places in America and across the world you have to pay to go to College.

[Barmi]

Of course it should stay!

Before EMA was introduced people who left school just decided to be lazy dozy loser's and just sign on. Now they have changed the signing on w/e to 18 so it encourages young people to further their education by going to college.

They just basically introduced the £30PW to encourage young ppl to go to College.

£30 A week is really good, we are very lucky as i know in same places in America and across the world you have to pay to go to College.

Just to put it in context, for a lot of people £30 per week is difficult to get.



In principle it is good, and should stay. I would only ask that the means test changes. For example, if one person is getting £30 p/w because her parents are earning £20,000 p/a, and another is entitled to nothing because her parents are earning £30,000, but has 9 other dependents to provide for... is this fair?

It is too simple, and it's used in most government means tests. It's not just this system that should change, but all of them. On a slightly different note, the EMA applications should by subject to more scrutiny. Why? People cheat the system. I know some people who have parents earning plenty over £30,000, and on the EMA form they would claim they are living with their grandmother. (Ergo, getting the full £30 p/w they wouldn't be entitled to.)

[Moh]

Luckily for me, my mum had to work part time for a year or two (family issues) so that gets me £30, but because my course is 2 years, they assess it for both years, so next year I should only get £20 or £10, but I get £30 ^_^

I do think they should reconsider the requirements. Both my friends parent work, so they're getting over £30k, but he also has other brothers who they have to provide for. So his parents can't afford to give him £30 a week. He had to get a job just so he could pay for college ect.. (However, I am very jelous of his Job. He works for the NHS, so good pay and low chance of getting laid off).

[Caution]

It shouldn't just depend on your parents salary, it should have more factors involved, and there should be proper checks imo. But I'm not really complaining cos I'll get it. :eusa_dance

[RandomManJay]

Its based on an old belief that because a family is making a high income, the children of that family would be supported, but in today's society, this isn't the usaully the case.

I don't think getting rid of it would be the best option, but it should be open to everyone and different rules should be made about how much money you get etc:

- Based on results or predicted grades (not the best idea).
- The amount of years you've been or are intending to be enrolled in further education and whether or not you have university aspirations.
- If you are employed by the time you've started further education.

I do think that the criteria was created to make it easier to allocate money, but life isn't as black and white as this and other things must be taken into consideration. So I do think it should stay, but it should be changed to accommodate everyone.

[buttons]

At the end of the day, the only ones that are going to moan about it are the people that don't get the money. I get £30 a week, my mum is a single parent who has to look after 3 children on a **** income, yet she still puts all of it into life savings. On top of that, I get my bus paid for me when I go to college as does my brother, considering it's like £5.50 for a return every day. If there's anything I desperately need mum will pay for it but for now we keep the EMA for the purposes it was given to us. The ones that get the money 'deserve' it. They're going to school/college for the time being, doing something and not just sitting on their lazy arses doing **** all, otherwise they wouldn't get it. Where I live and I'm sure it applys everywhere else, you have to go to school every day, skive no classes & if you do you have to have a very very good excuse otherwise you don't get it. At least they aren't getting paid £58 a week from Jobseekers for **** all which one of my friends does and she just buys alcohol with it.

As for the people that don't get it at all, I don't see why they should. Their family are making £30,800+ a year (this is if they aren't getting EMA) which is £10,000 more than the pupils getting £30. Say you were to stay on school for the two extra years required (I get confused with England), the maximum you will get from EMA is £3,000 (I think?) including bonuses. That's for 2 years and yet the people not getting EMA are still better off, if they really need it, they can get a job?!!? I know some people on £30 EMA and have a job so it's not like everyones wasting it on drink and things for their own enjoyment but they're putting in effort to get what they want.