Poor youngsters 'betrayed'

In a letter to Education Secretary Michael Gove, Mr MacShane describes the EMA as a "lifeline for young people from poor backgrounds", and warns that "to betray these young students would be a political mistake of the highest order".

Dr MacShane said:"The principle of RCAT has already written to me about the impact that EMAs have had on the lives of young people in our area, and I share her deep concerns.

“In total, 69 per cent of 16-18 year-olds at RCAT receive the EMA.

“Since the introduction of the EMA, there has been a 7.4 per cent increase nationally in the number of underprivileged young people staying in education post-16, according to the IFS.

“George Osborne says that he wants to replace the EMA with “targetted benefits”, but he's cutting the budget from £550 million to just £50 million, which is a massive 90 per cent cut.”

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