Labour should follow the SNP’s lead by matching cost-of-living support for young people, an MP has urged.

SNP MP Lara Bird said young people in Scotland were saving thousands of pounds compared with their counterparts in England.

She said this included free university tuition, free bus travel for under-22s and the education maintenance allowance (EMA).

The £30-a-week benefit is paid out to low-income teenagers between 16 and 19 who stay in school or further education.

According to new analysis by the House of Commons Library, eligible students are receiving up to £1,140 a year through the scheme, with more than 21,000 young people receiving a payment in 2024/25.

The analysis shows students south of the border lost out on an estimated £775 million over the last year.

The EMA in England was scrapped in 2014, saving the Treasury around £8 billion since.

The SNP has claimed the Scottish Government would receive up to an extra £90 million a year in extra funding if the UK Government decided to reinstate the scheme.

Ms Bird said: “Under the SNP, young people in Scotland are benefiting from the best cost-of-living support in the UK – and they are saving thousands of pounds compared to the extra costs the Labour Government is piling on to young people in England.

“In Scotland, the SNP scrapped tuition fees and as a result young people start their working lives with around £35,000 less debt than students in England.”

She said this came as tuition fees are set to increase for the second time since 2024 to £9,790 a year from September.

Ms Bird added: “While young people in Scotland are benefiting from up to £1,140 a year in education maintenance allowance grants, to help them stay in education, the Labour Party’s refusal to reinstate the EMA means that young people in England will lose out on an estimated £775 million of support this year.

“Andy Burnham must follow Scotland’s lead by matching the SNP government’s cost-of-living support for young people – including in areas like free bus travel for under-22s, where many young people in Scotland are saving over £1,000 a year compared to young people in England.

“Doing so would deliver more funding right across the UK, meaning the Scottish Government would have more money to deliver more cost-of-living support for families and young people in Scotland too.

“The fact that Scotland has chosen a different path, with more support for families, shows the difference we could make with the full powers of independence.”

A UK Government spokesperson said: “The UK Government is determined to provide breathing space on the cost of living.

“In his first weeks in office, the Prime Minister has taken immediate action to put more money in people’s pockets, including by cutting VAT from electricity bills and capping bus fares in England and Wales.”