Young people encouraged to apply for Education Maintenance Allowance
ALL eligible young people in Caithness are being encouraged to apply for a weekly term-time allowance of £30 per week from August.
Highland Council administers Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) for eligible young people from across its 29 secondary schools.
Colleges administer this scheme for their students.
The allowance provides an incentive for young people aged 16-19 from lower-income families to continue with their post-16 education, either in school or college.
Eligibility for the scheme is based on the total taxable household income for 2019/20:
- Up to £24,421 taxable income for households with one dependant child
- Up to £26,884 taxable income for households with two or more dependant children.
Sheila McKandie, Highland Council’s interim head of revenues and customer services, said: “Last year, around 750 young people across our secondary schools benefited from a total of £700,000 from this allowance and we know from supporting our young people that this helped them to continue with their school education.
“This weekly term-time allowance is paid directly into the young person’s bank account and does not affect the child benefit or other benefits being paid to their parents or carers. Applications are now being accepted for the 2020/21 academic year from Highland school pupils in post-16 education.”
She added: “I am encouraging all young people from across the Highland Council area who are eligible to apply to do so as quickly as possible. This will ensure they do not miss out on £30 every week, during each of the school terms, from August.
"Particularly at this time, when many families are experiencing such significant income shocks, we are working hard to raise awareness about the financial support that is available.”
Further information about EMA, including full eligibility criteria, is available on the council’s website.
The council’s welfare support team can complete the online application form with the young person and, in the wider context, can support all eligible households to apply for benefits and other entitlements.
The welfare support team can be contacted by telephoning 0800 090 1004 or emailing welfare.support@highland.gov.uk
