Wales increases Education Maintenance Allowance

The Welsh Government has increased the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) payment from £30 per week to £40 for eligible further education students in sixth form or college.

EMA is a weekly grant designed to support 16 to 18-year-olds from low-income households with further education costs, such as transport or meals.

FE students are eligible for EMA if their household income is £20,817 or less, if they are the only young person in the household, or £23,077 if there is more than one young person in the household. An FE Calculator (Student Finance Wales) is available to check students eligibility.

The increase, starting in April 2023, will continue for the next two academic years, while a comprehensive review into EMA is conducted.

Around 16,000 further education students in Wales currently receive the payment, which is paid every two weeks.

Alongside this increase to the EMA, Jeremy Miles also announced funding to allow free appeals for economically disadvantaged learners taking general and vocational qualifications in Summer 2023.

Minister for Education and Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles said: "In Wales we have continued to protect the Education Maintenance Allowance, with the increased payment helping with the reality of the cost of learning for students.

"We appreciate that the rate of EMA has not increased for some time, and during the current cost of living crisis, we understand young people are also feeling the financial strain. While we work to undertake an independent review of EMA, this raise will provide additional help to remove barriers to learning. EMA and the free appeals system for students taking exams are part of a package of support we provide in Wales to eligible students. I would encourage young people to find out if they qualify."