I AM very concerned at the Government’s plans to cut the education maintenance grant (EMA) that students between the ages of 16 and 19 can claim.

My daughter made her way through York College with the invaluable assistance of the EMA and is now at university in London. Without it things would have been very different; she may have had to get a loan to help support herself; she may have had to work longer hours to support herself, which would have put a strain on her education; or she may have not gone at all.

I urge the Government to think again and ensure that this allowance remains so as to continue to support our young people who aspire to a university education and give them the chance to embrace all the options available to them.

Coun Helen Douglas, The Guildhall, City of York Council.