While the £30 allowance might not sound like much, some young people need it to cover the cost of things like travel, lunch or textbooks.
Our own research in Newham shows it does make a difference when young people are deciding whether or not to stay on in education. Almost half of young people in the borough benefit from the allowance and those who receive it say it helped them choose to keep studying.
Despite coming from one of the most deprived boroughs in the UK, young people in Newham are continuing to exceed expectations when it comes to further education.
As a student and a young person, I'm really worried that this positive trend might reverse because young people from poorer backgrounds feel pushed out of further education without the extra financial support. To ensure that students from poorer backgrounds aren't left out in an increasingly competitive jobs market, the government needs to maintain the EMA.
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