The Coalition's Mr Bumble cuts study support for Hull youngsters

Hull youngsters wanting to stay on in further education will soon lose two thirds of the money currently available from the Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA).

It announced in the House of Commons today by Education Secretary Michael Gove that the EMA budget of £580 million will be replaced by a bursary scheme worth up to £180 million.

Hull North MP Diana Johnson said: "By slashing the money available under EMA by two thirds from 2012 it is clear that the vast majority of Hull students will lose out from this Coalition cut.

"Michael Gove claims that the country's 12,000 poorest students, representing fewer than 2% of the 643,000 students getting EMA, will get more help from this change.

"With other changes in family support under this Government, even that poorest 2% will still lose out overall and most of those outside the poorest 2% in Hull will not be well-off by any measure.

"These young people will also face the trebling of tuition fees. I fear that the result in Hull will be more young people not in education, employment or training failing to get equipped for the jobs of the future.

"For example, at Hull North's Wyke College where 57% of students currently receive EMA support, the Head will now have to spend time setting up a bureaucratic system of means-testing in order to cut support for the bulk of his students.

"Michael Gove is the Mr Bumble of this Coalition - the character in Oliver Twist once famously played by Sir Harry Secombe. But Michael Gove is not only ensuring Hull youngster don't get more he wants them to get a lot less."

Andy Burnham MP, Labour's Shadow Education Secretary, ahead of the statement on EMA today said: "Michael Gove has slashed funding for young people who need help to stay on in education. This is yet another chaotic announcement from the Education Secretary.

"From school building to school sport and Bookstart it's the same old story - no consultation, botched decisions and no grip on the detail. Now with talk of yet another legal challenge to one of his decisions, he looks set to announce funding that doesn't go far enough to support these teenagers who want to continue learning.

"We also need to know where this money has come from - will we see further cuts to other parts of the education budget to pay for this? If it is additional money from the Treasury then why on earth wasn't it in last week's Budget?

"Young people are bearing the brunt of this shambolic Government. At a time when they should be looking ahead to exams, they are worrying about whether they will have the financial support they need to stay in education it's a betrayal of young people and will lead to more of them dropping out.

"With youth unemployment at nearly one million, this Government should have kept their promise to retain EMA instead of risking a lost generation of young people."

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