Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which local authorities (a) offer or (b) have offered an education maintenance allowance since 2010.

The Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) was a national scheme that ended in England in 2011, when it was replaced by the 16-19 Bursary Fund. These bursaries are funded by the Department for Education and have two elements. The first is a discretionary fund allocated to education and training providers, which they use to support young people who need financial help to participate in education. £132 million was allocated to institutions for this academic year. The second is an entitlement to £1,200 per year for the most vulnerable groups of young people – including children in care, care leavers, and young people receiving certain income or disability benefits. The Department does not collect information from local authorities on whether they offer an education maintenance allowance in addition to this support, but we are aware for example that there is a local allowance provided in Tower Hamlets.