02/11/2012
NI EMA Consultation Closes Today
A public consultation on Northern Ireland’s Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) is due to close this afternoon.
The EMA was introduced in 2004 as financial support to encourage teenagers in Northern Ireland to stay in school.
Pupils from low-income families can claim up to £30 a week. Students aged 16 to 19 can qualify and may receive either £10, £20 or £30. The benefit costs the government £29m a year.
It is reported that 25,000 teenagers in Northern Ireland currently claim EMA, which makes up about 25% of the age group.
Some claimants can also receive bonuses for the completion of courses in schools or institutes of further education.
Proposed government alternatives include five options, all of which would remove the lower payments and some of which would cut higher payments and bonuses.
Similar changes have been made in Scotland and Wales, while the allowances have been completely scrapped in England.
The UK government said the scheme was expensive and poorly targeted.
The public consultation on the future of the NI EMA scheme was jointly published by Stormont's Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) and the Department of Education.
The consultation was opened in July and is due to close at 17:00 today.
(IT)
The EMA was introduced in 2004 as financial support to encourage teenagers in Northern Ireland to stay in school.
Pupils from low-income families can claim up to £30 a week. Students aged 16 to 19 can qualify and may receive either £10, £20 or £30. The benefit costs the government £29m a year.
It is reported that 25,000 teenagers in Northern Ireland currently claim EMA, which makes up about 25% of the age group.
Some claimants can also receive bonuses for the completion of courses in schools or institutes of further education.
Proposed government alternatives include five options, all of which would remove the lower payments and some of which would cut higher payments and bonuses.
Similar changes have been made in Scotland and Wales, while the allowances have been completely scrapped in England.
The UK government said the scheme was expensive and poorly targeted.
The public consultation on the future of the NI EMA scheme was jointly published by Stormont's Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) and the Department of Education.
The consultation was opened in July and is due to close at 17:00 today.
(IT)
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:A sunny but frosty start for many. However cloud increases by midday with a few showers reaching the north coast, these mostly light but spreading inland this afternoon. Chilly. Maximum temperature 8 °C.Tonight:A rather cloudy evening with scattered showers. Becoming drier through the night with some good clear spells developing and a patchy frost away from coasts. Minimum temperature 0 °C.