Student grants ‘vital lifeline’

Councillor Diane Williamson

Oldham Council
A RAUCOUS debate was sparked over the Government’s plans to slash the Education Maintenance Allowance last night.

At a meeting of full council, Labour attacked the coalition’s plans saying the lives of over 4,000 Oldham students would be ruined.

The grant gives £30 per week to 16-18 year old students with household incomes of less than £19,000 per year, towards course materials and transport costs. Those from families earning up to £31,000 get £10 per week for two years.

But on a narrow margin of 32 votes to 28, it was agreed that the chief executive would write to Michael Gove, secretary of state for education, to request details of a replacement scheme.

Councillor Diane Williamson said: “The taxpayer is paying £9,300 a year for every person who really needs EMA to keep them in education, even though young people only receive a maximum £1,400.

“With the budget in a shambolic state, we don’t have the luxury of spending millions of pounds on programmes that do not show a good return.”

She said needy young people could be supported through a new scheme — the Discretionary Learning Support Fund. Conservative leader, Councillor Jack Hulme, said that 90 per cent of those students who received EMA would still have stayed in further education without it.

He added that the current “wasteful system” was not the best way to help students.

Councillor Shoab Akhtar argued for more details on a replacement scheme.

“EMA is a vital lifeline for young people to keep them out of unemployment,” he said.

“Scrapping it will have a worse impact than increasing tuition fees.

Councillor Dave Hibbert slammed the plans saying they were kicking away the ladder of opportunity and condemning students to a life of agency work and lives on minimum wage.”

Earlier in the evening, a motion by Labour to say it was unfair that the scheme was being scrapped before a new one was introduced, was rejected by the council.