Hungryforaneducation
Young people on benefits who take up college places are being left penniless, hears Stephen Naysmith
WHEN the Scottish Parliament’s Equal Opportunities Committee examined youth homelessness recently, memberswere scathing about the facilities and support on offer. Headlines focused on fears of a “sub class” of young people being created, damaged and lacking the life skills to progress.
But another issue highlighted by the reportwent unnoticed. This is the plight of many motivated and able young peoplewho find the rug of financial support is jerked from under them, just as they try to better themselves.
People like Cherise Huth, 19, who started amusic course at Jewel & Esk – nowEdinburgh College – last year. Having been homeless, shewas living in the Stopover Project run by the Edinburgh charity Four Square, when she started the course.
However young people taking up a college place lose housing benefit and are no longer eligible for Job Seeker’s Allowance. She lost her entire income, and though she loved her course, the pressure began to rise.
Shewasn’t entitled to a bursary but knewshe ought to be able to reclaim housing benefit and get an Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA). However itwasn’t straightforward.
“I had to reapply three times. Three months down the linemy money still hadn’t come through, and I owed most of it anyway.
“I should have been able to get travel tokens, but had to borrow£40 a month for a bus pass. I ended up in arrears at the hostel, and relying on free food.”
For most of the three months, Cherise survived thanks to support from the charity FareShare, which distributes surplus food donated by the food and drink industry. Thiswas welcome, but generally sugary and snacks rather than a “proper meal”, she says.
Meanwhile her flatmates at Stopoverwere not getting up, as she
LEARNING A CRUEL LESSON: Daniel Goldie and Cherise Huth at the Four Square charity’s headquarters in Edinburgh. was, at half-past six in the morning. “In the end you ask yourself, why get up in the morning to go to college, when everyone you knowis still in bed – and you are on less money than them?”
Despite solid support from Stopover staff, who Cherise said helped a lot by making angry phone calls on her behalf, eventually she quit. “Iwasn’t enjoying it any more. I felt, I can’t keep doing this. My money came through just after I’d left,” she says.
Daniel Goldie, 21, who started college in September this year, has had a similar experience. Having spent time in care, hewas homeless from the age of 16, and had been in and out of jobs, but because homeless accommodation is more expensive than standard rents, he had already discovered that losing housing benefit meant most of his earnings were swallowed up.
Now, on a preparation for care course, at Edinburgh College’s Telford campus, he should be entitled to a bursary. But, in the meantime, his support has stopped.
“They’ve not paid me yet,” he says. “Housing benefit just stops. I’ve no income, and I’ve mostly just been running up arrears. I’m borrowing from friends, but you can’t tell people when they will be getting it back.
“The college have givenme travel tokens, but there are timeswhen they don’t have any. They say ‘come in and get them nextweek’, but I said ‘I need them now, to get home , and to get back in’. And if you can get there but are sitting with an empty stomach, howcan you concentrate?
“It is harderwhen you are trying to do something thanwhen you are sitting doing nothing and that’s not right.”
These are not an isolated cases. Four Square provided The Herald with four more case studies.
Meanwhile The Herald has seen a briefing on the issue fromwelfare officers atwhatwas Telford College, until the creation of Edinburgh College earlier this month.
They commented: “The current system hugely disadvantages the very peoplewe should be targeting. Essentially people are frequently better off to stay on benefits than to start an FE course.
“It is only the very determined studentswho are willing to suffer through financial hardship to gain a qualification that succeed. Until legislation changes, this will remain the case.”
The charity Quarriers brought the problem to the attention of the MSPs on the Equal Opportunities committee. Policy officer Kate Sanford told MSPs that for many of the disadvantaged young people it works with, the next logical step when they have stable accommodation is to address education gaps. “However they can get housing benefit to sit around a hostel all day, but cannot get it if they go to college,” she said describing this as a “fundamental flawin the benefits system”.
Change to the benefit rulesmust come fromWestminster. This is underway of course, not least with the merging of Job Seekers’ Allowance and Housing Benefit as
It is harder when you are trying to do something than when you are sitting doing nothing and that’s not right
part of the Coalition Government’s newUniversal Credit benefit.
Bob Stewart, head of social care at Four Square, is not optimistic that this will help. After all, he points out , the Conservatives’ most recent proposalwas to remove housing benefit altogether for under 25s. “There is a lot of demonising of young people going on, but they are being penalised for trying to get jobs or start courses,” he says. “But this has to be a good time to talk about it.”
Meanwhile Cherise has got a job. At the end of the month, she will startwork as a care assistant. Daniel is hoping his support comes through before his debts bring everything crashing down. “If I end up homeless again, I’ll losemy place on the housing list and will have to start again,” he says. “It is a huge gamble.”