Education Maintenance Allowance (Walsall North)

Gavin Williamson Excerpts

Wednesday 12th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Winnick]

My hon. Friend, who has made a very useful contribution since her election last May as the Member for Walsall South, makes a very important and valid point.

I have mentioned Walsall academy, so I move on to Walsall college. Its principal states:

“Walsall College provides education and training for the largest number of young people in the…borough”.

The college has 2,136 pupils—slightly more than 58%—in receipt of EMA. I said that these figures and percentages are not surprising because the annual income in my borough is about £21,000. Obviously I am pleased that these pupils are staying on, and I am sure that my hon. Friend would say the same about the pupils in her constituency. Many of them are likely to be the first generation in their family to continue in education beyond the school leaving age. I would have thought that we should use every means to try to persuade youngsters, particularly those to whom I have just referred, who might leave school at the first opportunity, to stay on. I would have thought that we should also give them some financial support. That is why I, like my hon. and right hon. Friends, think that the introduction of EMA was a welcome step.

What will be the position of those currently in receipt of EMA who will not have completed their course and will not be at the maximum age of 19 by the end of this academic year? They had no warning that EMA was coming to an end; they were certainly given none by the Conservative party when it was in opposition. The Prime Minister denied that EMA was going to go when he was Leader of the Opposition. What will happen to these students at the college and at secondary schools in my constituency and elsewhere? They will certainly feel that they have been left in the lurch.

All those who replied to me—the heads of the schools and the college principal—expressed much concern about what will follow the abolition of EMA. The Minister is almost certainly going to emphasise that a substitute is being put forward: the enhanced discretionary learner support fund. However, there is not much doubt that all the evidence indicates that the total amount of central Government money—the only money involved is central Government EMA and what I have just mentioned—will be much more limited than under EMA. That is the justification for getting rid of EMA.

[Gavin Williamson (South Staffordshire) (Con)]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Mr Winnick]

One does not normally give way, given the very limited time available and the fact that the Minister should have adequate time to reply. That is the normal parliamentary procedure, but if the hon. Gentleman is so desperate, so be it.

[Gavin Williamson]

I greatly thank the hon. Gentleman, my constituency neighbour, for giving way. Does he not accept that EMA is a very flawed system and does not take into account families’ current needs because it actually looks at the last tax year? It never dealt with a lot of people—for example, families where the main income earner had lost their job. It is a truly flawed system.