Yahoo News Essex council will pay parents up to £360 to keep children in education
Families across Basildon are set to benefit from a grant of more than £300 to help cover transport and other costs for young people in education, with a council boss hoping it will “reduce the financial barriers to education”. Basildon Council has announced its plans for the funding, which will support youngsters from disadvantaged households on Universal Credit. The new pilot will see eligible students aged 16 to 19 receiving a one-off £360 payment. Under the plans, up to 360 students will receive funding, with all payments made by March 31 next year. The council leader says it works out as £15 per week in each week of term time.
It comes after several parents facing “financial strain” have been calling out for support to help keep their children in education. Gavin Callaghan, Labour leader of Basildon Council, says around 2,000 families could be eligible for the cash boost. During a Facebook live video, Mr Callaghan said: “A number of residents have been in touch with me to tell me about the cost of 16, 17, 18-year-olds getting to school. For a lot of young people they end up travelling quite for distances, so it might be go to Billericay, Wickford, Chelmsford, Brentwood, or to Southend, and that is causing a lot of financial strain on parents having to pay big amounts of money. I am going to set up a bit of a pilot, this is going to be for 16 to 19 year olds where the household is in receipt of universal credit.
"We think there's going to be around 2,000 households in the borough that may be eligible, we are going to be providing £15 per week in each week of term time to enable young people and help with the cost of their travel, or food or books or whatever it is they need to reduce the financial barriers to education, to increase attendance and retention and to support the development of a skilled workforce in the future. If it's a success between January and July next year, then it may well be something we look to roll out further from September next year onwards. It’s something that’s come off of Facebook where parents have been explaining to me what is going on and how much it costs to get kids to school.”
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Speaking later as part of a council statement, he added: “Basildon borough has almost unrivalled potential, but only if our young people have the skills to step into the jobs emerging here. Financial pressures, especially among households on Universal Credit, are driving students away from education.
“For too many families, the cost-of-living crisis is making college attendance a luxury they can’t afford. We are going to turn that trend around by helping students stay in school – a move that could transform not only their futures but the future of Basildon itself.”
Applications will open shortly, with details on application and eligibility due to be published on Basildon Council’s website in the week commencing November 25.
