§ Ms BuckTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when children in each London local authority will be eligible for educational maintenance allowances. [105969]
§ Margaret HodgeThe national Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) scheme will be available from September 2004 across the whole of England.
EMA is being piloted in a number of areas, 16 of which are in London. In areas such as Regent's Park and Kensington North which are not part of the pilot scheme, the first tranche of eligible students will be those who reach the compulsory school leaving age in the 2003/2004 academic year.