A LEGAL challenge offers fresh hope to around 11,000 Mersey students who face being stripped of their education maintenance allowance (EMA), campaigners said yesterday.
The Save EMA Campaign announced it was drafting a court action against Education Secretary Michael Gove, arguing his decision to axe the vital grants breached a contract.
The case will be on behalf of students who began two-year courses last autumn, with a “legitimate expectation” that they would receive EMA until they had completed their studies. More than 300,000 teenagers are in that position – half the total number receiving EMA – including around 16,800 in Merseyside and Cheshire.
The Government announced it was axing EMA – weekly payments of up to £30 to help sixth formers from poorer homes stay in education – in October, having earlier stated the allowance would survive.
Hopes of a legal challenge rose when Mr Gove lost in the High Court, earlier this month, over his decision to scrap the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. That move was condemned as an “abuse of power”.
Significantly, lawyers have suggested the new case could target Mr Gove over a “failure to consult” before axing EMA – the very reason he lost on BSF.
