Education Maintenance Allowances 2023-24

1. Background information

The EMA programme aims to provide support for young people aged 16 to 19 years from low income families to overcome financial barriers to stay on in post-16 education; either in school or on a college course, or to take up a Learning Agreement or Action Plan.

The programme is an entitlement and demand-led programme which is administered by local authorities and colleges on behalf of Scottish Ministers. A weekly payment of £30 is made to a young person and is subject to a learning agreement or action plan, and attendance.

For a young person to receive EMA they must meet all of the eligibility criteria. This includes meeting residency criteria; having a household income under the EMA income threshold; be of an eligible age, and be taking part in an eligible course of learning.

Additional information including the eligibility criteria and income thresholds can be found at www.mygov.scot/ema.

This release is accompanied by online tables that cover more detailed analysis (Age, Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation and broken down by Local Authority Level.)