To ask the Minister for the Economy whether her Department plans to review the eligibility threshold to access Education Maintenance Allowance.

While there are no plans to review or increase the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) eligibility thresholds in this financial year, I remain committed to ensuring that financial support is available to help remove barriers and enable every young person to have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

To support this, work is underway between officials in my Department and their counterparts in the Department of Education (DE) to ensure that EMA continues to be appropriately targeted and effective. Any potential changes will be considered as part of this ongoing cross-departmental work.