Vote on plans to cut Education Maintenance Allowance

Seven out of 10 teenagers from poor families would drop out of college if Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) was scrapped, according to a survey of students getting the grant.

There's a vote tomorrow (19 January) on government plans to cut the payments in England although Scotland is planning to keep the grant.

The EMA is a grant that helps people from poorer homes stay in education after 16.

What is EMA?

16-year-old Ellie: "I don't know if I can go to college"

Education Maintenance Allowance pays up to £30 a week to 650,000 college students and sixth-formers in England from poorer backgrounds.

It's only paid if you attend most of your classes and it's for travel, books, or other essentials.

Supporters call it a lifeline and protesters, in around 100 schools and colleges, want to stop it being scrapped next September.

Why's it being scrapped?

We hear a lot about the state of the economy, and how money is much tighter as the country gets itself back on track after the recession.

The government's got research that shows nine out of 10 of the people who get EMA would still go to college if they didn't get it.

It costs the taxpayer £560 million a year and ministers say it is a waste of tax cash at a time when there's not much to spare.

What will happen to poorer students once the grant is gone?

There are big fears that school leavers from poorer backgrounds won't be able to afford post-16 education.

The government says it will be replaced by a much smaller £75 million 'hardship fund' next September.

There aren't many details yet about how the new fund will work, but ministers say it will still provide support to the most needy or deserving 10% of cases.

They say it means nobody will miss out on post-16 education, but that tax money won't be wasted on people who can afford college anyway.

Ellie's story

Ellie Long is 16 and from Liverpool.

She wants to go to sixth form but she's worried she won't be able to afford it if her EMA is cut.

It's just her and her dad at home, and he earns a low wage as a van driver.

She says: "I don't know if I can go to college or sixth form.

"Not many of my mates' parents earn more than £30,000 and most of them are single parents," she says. "Most of us are worried about it."