HC Deb 04 November 2003 vol 412 cc585-6W
Mr. Chaytor

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he decided to set the maximum educational maintenance allowance at £30 per week; and if he will make a statement. [134257]

Mr. Ivan Lewis

Decisions about the various elements of the national scheme were taken in June 2003, including the maximum weekly payment. This has drawn on evidence from the pilot scheme. This information was then disseminated to local partners and schools and colleges in the form of a general leaflet; copies of this were also placed in the House of Commons Library.

Mr. Chaytor

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will estimate the cost of the national introduction of educational maintenance allowances in(a) 2004–05, (b) 2005–06 and (c) 2006–07 if the upper limit is set at (i) £30 per week and (ii) £40 per week. [134258]

Mr. Ivan Lewis

The EMA pilot has been extensively evaluated, including those variants testing different maximum payment-3. We have drawn from the evidence to develop what I believe will be the most effective model for the national EMA scheme. Evidence indicated that an upper limit of £40 per week was no more effective at increasing participation than the maximum of £30 per week. We have, however, been able to raise the lower threshold for receiving the maximum payment to £19,000 compared to £13,000 in the pilot scheme.

The estimated cost of the scheme for each of the three years is:

Cost (£ million) Estimated number of young people on EMA
2004–05 238 274,000
2005–06 374 390,000
2006–07 462 439,000

Mr. Chaytor

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action he is planning to promote the take-up of educational maintenance allowances; and if he will make a statement. [134259]

Mr. Ivan Lewis

Plans to promote the take up of the national EMA scheme focus on three main phases of promotional activity, which are:

  • February 2004—a helpline opens for young people and their parents, along with an interactive website and a main promotion launch.
  • April/May 2004—second phase of the main promotional activity to raise awareness to coincide with the application packs being made available from April.
  • August/September 2004—third phase of main promotional activity to coincide with GCSE results and enrolment in further education.

Some promotional activity is already under way to raise awareness in the form of: a general EMA leaflet for local partners and schools and colleges, a leaflet specifically for young people, information in careers materials and a series of regional conferences.