Education Maintenance Allowances: 2020-21

4. EMA payments

Total spend

The total spend on EMA in 2020-21 was £22.1 million. Of this, £16.8 million was spent on school recipients (76% of total payments), £4.6 million on college payments (21%) and £0.6 million on activity agreements (3%).

Average payment per person, by gender

The average payment per EMA recipient was £882 in 2020-21.

Amongst EMA recipients, school students received on average £933 over the academic year, college students £763 and activity agreements £667. The main difference is due to the number of weeks in which each type is eligible to receive the benefit over the year.

On average, female recipients receive £891, slightly more than male recipients (£872).

Average payment per person, by deprivation

Students from the most deprived areas are more likely to receive EMA: 9,525 recipients from Quintile 1 (the most deprived) versus 1,930 recipients from Quintile 5 (the least deprived).