Education Maintenance Allowance
EMA is an allowance of £30 per week, depending on household income. Household income is assessed in the same way as for Tax Credits provided by HM Revenue & Customs. Students estranged from parents or in care of the authority can also be paid.
Get your Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA)
You could get a weekly allowance of £30 per week if you:
- attend a school in the West Lothian Council area, or
- you are on an Activity Agreement
Find out if you match the eligibility conditions for an EMA on the EMA Scotland.
College students should contact their college directly to apply for EMA.
Academic Year 2018/2019
Applications will be available at all secondary schools in June. A student must be born between 01 March 1999 and 28 February 2003 to be eligible for Education Maintenance Allowance from this authority.
Students born between 01 March 1999 and 30 September 2002 can start payment from week beginning 20 August 2018. The form must arrive at the Civic Centre by 30 September 2018.
Students born between 01 October 2002 and 28 February 2003 may start payment from 07 January 2019. The form must arrive at the Civic Centre by 28 February 2019.
Any application form that does not arrive at the Civic Centre by these deadlines can only be paid from the week in which the application is received. The closing date for school application forms is 31 March 2019. Absolutely no application will be accepted after this date.
Here is a link to the application form 
EMA Application Form 2018/2019 [70kb] and here is a link to the Certificate of Benefits Received as mentioned in the application Certificate for Benefits Received [21kb]
