Welsh Government | Education Maintenance Allowances Awarded in Wales

Education Maintenance Allowances Awarded in Wales – Update at End of March 2011

The latest National Statistics on Education Maintenance Allowances awarded in Wales, produced by the Welsh Assembly Government, were released on 13 April 2011 according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority.

This Statistical First Release presents information on the number of applications for Education Maintenance Allowances (EMAs) by students studying in Wales for the period up to 31 March 2011. The EMA Wales scheme was introduced for 16 year olds for the first time in 2004/05. In 2005/06, the scheme was extended to include 16 and 17 year olds and, in 2006/07, 18 year olds. The scheme is designed to provide an incentive for students from lower-income families to continue and remain in full-time education. The principal component of the EMA is a weekly allowance, linked to satisfactory attendance, for eligible students attending learning centres in Wales. Students can qualify for awards of £10, £20 or £30 depending on household income. They can also qualify for periodic additional bonuses of £100 if agreed learning objectives are met.

The data, based on applications received by 31 March 2011, are correct as at 7 April 2011.

The key points from the latest release are:

As at 31 March 2011, approved applications were up 1 per cent on last year, whilst the total number of applications received was down by 0.1 per cent.
A total of 38,225 EMA Wales applications have been received for academic year 2010/11.
36,300 (95 per cent) of applications received have been approved, 595 (2 per cent) have been rejected and 1,055 (3 per cent) are incomplete(1).

(1) These are applications that are “missing information” (e.g. no date of birth included) or “missing evidence” (e.g. birth certificate).