§ Dr. KumarTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to extend the post-16 student support provision pilots onto a national basis; and if he will make a statement. [72051]
§ Mr. MudieThe Education Maintenance Allowance pilots will run in 15 pilot Local Education Authorities across England from September 1999. We intend at this stage to run the pilots for three years, covering two cohorts. We will be evaluating the pilots closely from the start, and if the evaluation shows them to be successful in significantly raising post-16 participation, retention and achievement, we plan to introduce the Allowance nationally.