But we do have a short debate, and I call on Luke Fletcher to speak to the topic that he has chosen. 

And if Members can leave the Chamber quietly if you're leaving the Chamber, so that the short debate can be heard.

Diolch, Llywydd, and I've agreed to give a minute of time to Mike Hedges, Heledd Fychan, Peredur Owen Griffiths and Jenny Rathbone. What is education maintenance allowance other than a lifeline for so many, both today and in the past? In 1999, the UK Government announced a pilot programme in 15 local authority areas. The programme proposed a payment to students aged 16 to 19 from families who were considered low income and who were in full-time education in either school or college. The question was a simple one, but also an ambitious one: could participation and achievement be raised through directly addressing the financial problems faced by kids from low-income families? In 2000, 15 local authority areas turned to 55 and, after the pilot concluded, EMA was rolled out UK wide in 2004. It lasted until October 2010, when the UK Government decided to scrap it.

But it wasn't scrapped here in Wales, and, as I've said before, it's important that we acknowledge that Welsh Government protected it then, and have protected it since. For that, like so many other kids from low-income families, I am grateful. But if it still exists here in Wales, then why are we having this debate? The reality is that EMA is failing to meet the needs and challenges faced by learners today. First and foremost, the value of an EMA payment is nowhere near enough to support a learner. The value has remained at £30 a week since 2004, almost two decades without a rise. Had the payments kept up with inflation, the payment would be today £45 a week. That has resulted in a real-terms cut in the value of EMA by a third over this period. In 2020, Robert, 17 at the time, told the Bevan Foundation,

'You need more EMA. £30 doesn't buy you anything. It's crap. It's gone by the time you cover basic costs.'

Chloe, 16 at the time said, 'It's okay, but hard to divide it into what you need.' And Thomas, 18 at the time, said that books proved to be too expensive to afford.

The biggest concern, however, identified by education providers in relation to the payment as it stands, was that some learners dropped out because they thought that they would be financially better off claiming jobseeker's allowance or to take up a full-time employment post. Many simply couldn't afford to continue with their education even when they were receipt of EMA. This, of course, flies in the face of the main principle that EMA was founded upon, and the pandemic, and no doubt the cost-of-living crisis, will only make the situation worse. So, as a matter of urgency, the weekly payment needs to be addressed. 

The Deputy Presiding Officer took the Chair.

Secondly, the eligibility criteria must be addressed and expanded. Too many young people are being locked out of support that they desperately need. The thresholds have largely remained unchanged since 2011, meaning that inflation hasn't been taken into account. This has resulted in learners today needing to be poorer than learners back in 2011 in order to be able to claim. Again, the Bevan Foundation calculated that the threshold for eligibility should now be £4,000 higher after accounting for inflation and that, the real-terms reduction in eligibility thresholds, has meant that the number of learners accessing EMA has consistently fallen. Overall, it has fallen from roughly 30,000 learners in receipt in 2013 and 2014 to roughly 20,000 in 2018 and 2019. Previously, the Welsh Government has said that this has been due to demographic changes, but the logic doesn't follow. Although the number of 16 and 18-year-olds has fallen by 8 per cent, the number of EMA recipients has reduced by a third. A common message heard often is how children from low-income households are unable to afford food in the canteen or relevant learning materials, yet they're not eligible for EMA.

Finally, real concerns have been expressed to me by education providers relating to the complexity and lack of awareness of the application process. I have to take a moment to thank the team at Bridgend College, who consistently made this point, in particular Carys Swain, who has been a fantastic advocate for learners within the college. The process of applying itself is locking out students, and this again came across in research conducted by the Bevan Foundation, as well as being recognised by the Welsh Government in its 2014 review of EMA. Colleges and schools are, of course, doing their best to refer, but it's challenging. There are a lot of learners who are unaware that they are entitled to EMA.

So, what am I asking for? What is the purpose of this debate? What I want from the Government in the first instance—. And of course I recognise that the Welsh Government's budget is limited and things will only get tougher, but what I want is an assurance that EMA is a priority for this Government, and that, when the funding is available in the Minister's portfolio, EMA is one of those policy areas that is at the top of the list. What I would also ask is that the Minister reviews EMA, not only relating to the payment but also the eligibility criteria and the application process, and that the Government steps up its entitlement awareness campaign amongst young learners.

Dirprwy Lywydd, every Member in this Chamber right now is here because they know how important EMA is to the success of a learner from a low-income household. Coming back to the original question as to what is the purpose of EMA, 'Could participation, achievement, be raised through directly addressing the financial problems faced by kids from low-income households?' Well, it was; the evidence is there for people to see. But unfortunately it's falling short. I know the Minister takes these concerns seriously. I know the Government does as well. But what we need now, more than ever, is action.

Can I thank Luke Fletcher for giving me a minute in this debate? EMA is very important. From my time as a further education college lecturer in RCT, if EMA had not existed many students who went on to successful careers in ICT would not have been able to continue their studies. EMA provides the finance to allow them to continue studying and then move on to higher education. EMA allows those from less well-off families to continue to study past 16 years of age. It is means tested, and based upon total family income. Does it catch everyone that needs it? No. But it provides a lifeline to many. I agree with Luke Fletcher that it needs to be expanded. More people need to be eligible for it. But it's providing such a tremendous opportunity to so many young people from less well-off backgrounds. As someone who, from both personal experience and seeing my former students succeed, has seen the benefit education has on income—the better educated you are, the better the chance of getting a good job—that should not be restricted to only those who come from affluent families; every child should have the same opportunity. EMA is a necessity for many.

Thank you, Luke, for bringing forward this debate today.

It is a lifeline for many. We cannot underestimate how important it is. One of the things that I'm really pleased that you've emphasised today is in terms of the eligibility criteria, because one of the things that has been brought up with me, from those whose young people within families are completely reliant on the EMA, has been the eligibility criteria when that young person is a carer. At present, they have to have 100 percent attendance in order to receive that EMA. And one of the things also that we see time and time again is in terms of the increase in public transport costs maybe impacting them from being able to get to that college et cetera to have 100 percent attendance. So, I think we do need to look now. We saw, during the pandemic, more colleges using Teams and so on, that people could join remotely, whereas that now is being pulled back again by colleges, and this emphasis on being present physically is actually providing a barrier. I think we need to embrace what happened during the pandemic in terms of people being able to join remotely, because, if the amount of money received via EMA cannot be increased at this point in time, then at least we can make it easier for students to be able to be present and they're not then losing out on these essential payments, which then means that they're dropping out of education, because their families can't afford to not have even that £30 per week. So, I very much hope that the Minister can work with colleges to ensure that the eligibility is there and that people aren't then punished if they can't have that 100 per cent attendance because of a whole array of things that are outside of their own control, including the cost-of-living crisis.

Thank you, Luke, for bringing this issue forward today and allowing me to contribute to this debate, which, I know, is very important to you.

We've heard from Heledd just then about the—. And I want to go on from what Heledd was saying: the charity Barnardo's Cymru go as far as describing the EMA as a lifeline for many young people that they help. They go as far as saying that it can be the difference between a young carer being able to go into education or not. Unfortunately, many of these young carers end up being penalised, as Heledd said, through their EMA payments due to lateness or absence, which are often caused by their caring responsibilities. Minister, I hope you agree with me that a missed payment for these young people, who are only trying to improve their prospects but have extra responsibilities beyond their years, is wholly unfair. And Minister, would you also please explain to us what sort of level of care or protection is given to young people in receipt of EMA, especially young carers, to make sure that they are not exploited by third parties? Diolch yn fawr.

I thank Luke Fletcher for bringing this debate. I think it's really useful to remind us that the EMA hasn't been uprated since 2004; it clearly buys a lot less than it used to that long ago. It is a vital—. Even the reduced amount that it currently buys, is still a really, really vital way of enabling young people to stay in education who otherwise might be pushed into going into a job that leads nowhere. It's absolutely vital that we encourage people to stay on in education post 16, so that we have the workforce we need to do all the new tasks that society requires, particularly with the net-zero plan. We need to train up huge numbers of people in clean, green jobs, as well as enabling people to get those entry-level qualifications, whether it's in social and healthcare, or in other sectors that they may want to spend their life in.

I think it's worrying that a lot of learners are unaware of the EMA, because what are schools, colleges and FE institutions doing if they're not promoting it? I think it'd be good to hear from the Minister about that and what we can do about it. Because it's a similar story with the healthy eating voucher, as some people are not getting that, or large numbers of people are not getting that, and we certainly need to maximise all the benefits that people should be able to get in these very, very difficult times.

I now call on the Minister for Education and Welsh language to reply to the debate. Jeremy Miles.

Thank you. As a Government, we acknowledge the positive impact that the education maintenance allowance can have on young people. That's why we, during the years of austerity forced on Wales by the coalition Government, have tried to safeguard the allowance, as opposed to what happened in England, where it was abolished in 2011. And now we face another extremely difficult financial situation, we are still committed, in accordance with our programme for government, to maintaining the allowance. Alongside our other commitments for young people, and at an annual cost of £17 million, the EMA makes it possible for more than 18,000 young people to continue in post-compulsory education every year. Almost one in three—31 per cent—of full-time students who meet the eligibility criteria in terms of age receive support through the EMA.

The current payment rate in terms of attendance, namely £30 a week, is consistent with what is available in Northern Ireland and Scotland. Of course, I understand that there are concerns, particularly at a time of crisis, that the EMA hasn’t increased for some time. I acknowledge the work of the Bevan Foundation and continue to welcome their views in terms of where we can make further improvement in terms of our commitment to young people. I realise that young people also are feeling financial pressures as a result of the cost-of-living crisis that we are currently facing. But, at a time when we all have to get to grips with this new pressure on spending, it isn’t possible to increase the level of the EMA from £30 to £45. We estimate that doing so would mean £8.5 million in addition annually. Also, even though I understand that the threshold for considering a young person’s household to be eligible hasn't changed, the additional £8.5 million that would be required to increase the rate would increase to more than £15 million a year if we were to introduce these changes as suggested.

Due to the rapid rise in inflation, Dirprwy Lywydd, we know that, overall, our budget will be worth around £4 billion less over this three-year period than previously thought. Effectively, this is a cut to our budget. Without any additional funding from the UK Government or cuts to our existing programme for government and co-operation agreement commitments, maintaining EMA is where our ambition will have to rest for now. Despite our limitations in increasing the rate of EMA we have expanded the eligible cohort to include some of the most vulnerable young people in Wales. This includes those impacted by Brexit, family members of those with protected immigration status, and, more recently, the expansion to include young people fleeing the war in Ukraine.

All young people can apply for EMA at any point in the academic year, and where their family circumstances change, resulting in a drop in income, we encourage young people to apply for EMA with a current-year income assessment. Our schools and colleges work closely with their learners to ensure that they are receiving the support they are entitled to. Young people in receipt of EMA can also access a range of additional support. Schools and colleges can often loan ICT equipment and learning resources, removing the need for their EMA to be spent on essential course items. They may also be able to get free or subsidised transport during their course from their local authority. Over £6 million has been provided to further education institutes, y Ganolfan Dysgu Cymraeg Cenedlaethol and the Open University in Wales for the academic year 2022-23 for the financial contingency fund. The fund aims to ensure that learners across Wales, including those in receipt of EMA, are not inhibited by financial constraints. For example, eligible learners can receive additional money towards course fees, course materials, childcare costs, food and other study-related items. For the academic year 2022-23, access to the FCF has been extended to include asylum seekers and any learner eligible under the post-16 funding eligibility for mainstream funding.

More broadly, all schools and further education institutions in Wales have been provided with funding to ensure learners have access to free period products and free meals during college holidays, a combined package of support worth over £1.5 million. Laying the foundation for post-compulsory education starts at the foundation phase, and we provide a wide range of support for learners as they progress through school. As per the co-operation agreement, £35 million of new capital funding has been provided to local authorities to invest in improvements to school catering facilities and £200 million has been committed for the day-to-day provision over the next three years to roll out free school meals in all Welsh primary schools.

To conclude, Dirprwy Lywydd, while we remain restricted in our ability to uplift the rate of EMA, as a Government we continue to respond to the current crisis with wide-reaching programmes of household support that seek to help our young people and their families on low incomes. We will continue to use every single lever available to us to support our young people and to ensure that money is never a barrier to accessing education.

I thank the Minister, and thank you, everyone. That brings today’s proceedings to a close.

The meeting ended at 18:30.