So how much do you need to live on while at university? James Ware 1) In the United Kingdom the law on minimum income (the successor of Church provision as amended and nationalised by the C19th Poor Law into state provision, particulary since 1945 and the introduction of the welfare state on top of the state pension and housing provision before and during World War 1) is set within the context of the Department of Work and Pensions guidelines after the September UK inflation rate is announced, roughly six months after the last UK budget and is amended up / down at the Autumn Spending review according to the agreed maximum of the UK DWP (social Security department) budget, devolved variations (such as GLA and London Borough staff on the ‘living wage’ of £10-12 per hour worked and a public transport pass or interest free zone). UK, wide (predominantly England) the differing benefits paid are the following categories: 1) Job seeking on Unemployment benefit (JSA) part time (ie while bringing up children, being disabled or semi retired as a non executive director / charity trustee in the voluntary sector) £45-65 2) Recently unemployed and on DWP National Insurance credits and top up (income based) JSA. This is where based on previous employment history, the DWP and HMRC Tax Credit departments pay you extra to the JSA standard level. If long term disabled or sick IB and Is go up simulating salary wage rises, ESA ,any differ with the emphasis of said increases going on Support groups and training for part time work. If living outside of the family home these two are eligible for Council and Housing Benefit at the local authorities discretion for 18-24 year olds and previously a lower rate for YMCA Hostels, bedsits and the like. If parents are ill and children live at home, they may get carers allowance or a part of their parents employment support allowance paid direct to them by the state in lieu of housing benefit depending on the English Local Authorities / County Council guidelines and in case they can only work part time. 3) as 2) but under 25 with a lower benefit rate and thus qualifying for DWP income support to top up to the legal amount, thus qualifying also for Housing and Council Tax Benefit. This would normally be paid only for a bedsit / studio flat rate. 4) Under 25 and out of FE / HE as an apprentice in some industries on the apprentice guidelines wage of £95 a week. Counts towards Housing Benefit, but Council Tax may be paid to landlord or be landlords responsibility 5) Over 18 eligible for DLA or Attendance Allowance (till 65 and assessed under the old system every four years based on medical notes and submitted evidence to the relevant Disability and Carers service) paid to the infirm person tax free so that it can be forwarded through their bank account to their carer or direct to the Local authorities adult social care department if care is council arranged. Under 18s usually has more input from charities / hospital volunteers / faith communities / Churches and is not usually disclosed. 5) 25-30 eligible for 1bedroom flat if alone or two bedroom flat if in relationship and have children or if caring for relative. If has a long term condition that qualifies for Incapacity Benefit or transfer to higher rate Employment and Support Allowance, 6) 30-40, 40-60 and over 65 have varying Incapacity Benefit rates per month. All people (over 18) who live on it for over a year get a ‘December / Christmas Bonus’ of about 1-2 weeks amount of IB. 7) Employment and Support Allowance is lower with the difference going to treatment / recovery groups funding (state sector or those contracted to do so), carers, UK wide IT databases and provision except where devolved and enterprise / job clubs for the patients who are so capable (after assessment and some times volunteering so to do after working voluntarily part time). As such it may help mentally disabled and mental health patients with High IQ’s with a variety of part time courses or remedial OU study to get a full first year undergraduate certificate, or second year diploma / HND / Foundation Degree after credit transfer. 7) TV licences are given free for Over 75s, sometimes discounted to those who are 74 depending on when their birthday is compared to the Tax / Benefit calculation year, and those who are diabetic or have extremely poor eyesight amongst other defined medical conditions under the relevant guidelines drawn up under devolved UK ministerial powers by the Licencing agency (a part of or working in partnership with the BBC). Full time and disabled part time students are sometimes exempt and though this needs checking, you can declare that you don’t have a Television every year and then not pay (though if your computer / mobile / I player downloads under new guidelines you may need one, also if you get a DAB / Sattellite Radio). Student shared houses count as households that have to pay the licence, Halls of residence include the cost for common room provision in the rents pro rata and The TV Licensing agency mail every individual room so you can apply for one. Taxation Once you are over 18 Tax free savings are only usually the following: 1) Declared and linked savings account with Current Account for direct debits such as termly / monthly tuition fees, paid for by having the equivilant of fourteen / fifteen months of income with the extra two / three covering housing and textbooks / stationery (which some HE undergrad law / medicine and postgrad students count against income and capital gains tax as ‘tools of the trade’ as well as family birthdays and Christmas cards and presents) Hence for the twelve actually monthly income payments, the leftover amount from keeping expenditure down on alcohol / tobacco, having a prepayment NHS certificate for prescribed medicine if living in England (free prescriptions in Wales and Scotland passed by their democratic national parliaments devolved primary law making powers) gets transferred to the savings account. Additional Top Up National Insurance contributions instead of income tax from mothly allowance and or part time work so that if you fall ill get an injury while working for the Sports team, you get a higher amount of incapacity / ESA and possibly Income Support with the latter. 2) ISAs within the UK financial jurisdiction up to the statutory maximum per person or members of a recognised family unit per year. 3) Off shore accounts with tax paid on amounts transferred into the UK / Northern Irish / Scottish / English / welsh jurisdictions. Thus some banks for their ‘premier’ customers may have these linked as well from Isle of Man / Channel Island / Commonwealth / Republic of Ireland Tax Haven bank accounts or share portfolios so registered and declared under EU, Commonwealth, EFTA and IMF guidelines such as banknote issuing banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland. 4) Shares of UK companies (such as those on London or Edinburgh Stock Exchange like the FTSE 100, 300, 500 and MIB) would be registered with UK banks in the UK for UK citizens usually and may qualify to pay Corporation Tax. Banks that offer that include Santander / HSBC / Nat West and Lloyds TSB / RBS. Mutual societies that are concentrated in a given area of the UK may help former insolvents and the children of their customers by helping them with this as part of their Pension provision given the real terms decline of the state pension when the link to earnings was removed from the early 1980s to 2010. 5) Until Income tax and National Insurance are merged into a universal tax, commonly administered by BACS and PAYE deductions by the same Agency but at varying rates depending on whether the address is in Scotland / Wales / England or Northern Ireland (owing to their devolved budgets and tax rates from devolved administrations) and in different parts and income bands (ie atop rate of 45-50%), full time student paid employment is allowed for up to 12-16 hours per week and at your discretion only National Insurance at the statutory amount or additional amounts to it or income tax like those not in education is paid. 6) However without a Living Wage and where termly transport costs too / from uni are greater and there are less Long Distance Buses / Coaches like National Express (such as to Aberdeen, Aberystwyth, Belfast (non distance students), these universities might be better aiming for part time students in Full time employment who are either locals to their devolved nation or are so descended, working in local government or other UK / Welsh state employees and thus eligible for funding for it while in post or those who are employees of privatised utilities and ‘in house’ practicioners in related disciplines such as: Railway engineering, Doctors, Pharmacists, Librarians Qualified PCSOs and those PC’s being assessed for eligibility for CID or Police Sergeant rank, all eligible to use Copyright Libraries and their online resources, based on the Blackboard learning system). Pitman Qualified Legal Secretarial All of these would / could as an entry criteria be bilingual and live in Wales and can use DVD lectures and Computers with webcams for tutorials. Student Unions might not pay enough for student part time staff especially given the unusual hours that their catering / bar staff work. As such and to curtail the drinking culture of other venues, students could when applying for private sector similar jobs ask for their hours to be limited on health grounds (such as having to take sleeping tablets and their course having, 8.30 - 10.30am early morning lectures in that week arguing for said employment restrictions under the European Working time directive or parity with those working of similar age with young families or for common contracts of employment with staff in teaching and support staff who are non students). Also prior to going to university, they could do a part time course to raise their own ‘personal minimum wage’ based on experience such as introduction to childcare, counselling, Mountain leadership or experience with a narrow gague railway maintenance or hospitality (and in the case of Plymouth and Aberystwyth / Aberdeen and living in a English town with relevant ad ed provision, the native languages of Cornwall, Wales and Scotland) so that they can work and be appointed on the basis of equal opportunities. Under employment statistics the fewer number of jobs for the population of the academic year may price the average working class family student from full time study there unless they enrolled with two-five of their friends in the first year to all study distance / part time and work or live off inherited money or parental and grand parental / family or church/ faith income and charitable trusts or company and professional association charitable grants and apprenticeships (such as the former London County Council Pension fund for their staff and their children (if in a successor department such as The Greater London Fire Authority and Brigade or a London Logistics regiment) Thus could enable them to get a private sector tenancy for their first year and make a housing benefit claim / conservation area grant to actually buy it as a shared house, or if their income / savings made by their parents and part time work aged 13-18 isn’t enough share a ‘student village house (such as Neuadd Pentre Jane Morgan Hall at Prifysgol Aberystwyth University) if that protects their housing benefit level rates for being a tenant in the private sector in their second year. An example for those of only average ability who grew up in the western Home counties (ie not Oxford uni grades or fail their interview and desist after only applying for one academic year) is Brunel University with Housing near the Cowley Road being similarly bought since the 1980s. However with the number of secondary schools within 1¾ miles of Uxbridge being counted as 8 +1 : Vyners, Bishopshalt, Douai Martyrs RC, Abbotsfield / Swakeleys, Uxbridge High and with the RAF Uxbridge Development mnaking the town centre expand to the west, Hewens and Rosedale Colleges (the former Mellow Lane and Hayes / Rosedale Grammar Schools), plus the Bishop Ramsey CofE school in Eastcote for LB’s Hillingdon, Harrow and Ealing plus surrounding Home Counties District councils. Getting part time employment even with the number of shops and shopping centres is difficult for undergraduates as these schools ex students might have started work the previous academic year while on study leave. There is also the fact that with so many cadet and youth groups nearby from Ruislip south to West Drayton, other teenagers with families resident have an advantage over the temporary resident students unless they are trying to gain UK citizenship through the previous governments naturalisation and as such have a Job Centre employment advisor, similarly to Young Mothers / Older jobseekers and the Mental Health / Disability advisor provision at Uxbridge Job Centre in Uxbridge (Belmont Road). However with the differing development policies in the East London boroughs of High storey office blocks in Docklands surrounded by right to buy 1945 - social housing for families (the 2 ½ bedroom council house) and above average priced 2-3 bedroom ‘low rise’ flats on the former Royal Docks dockside (the ones near London City Airport and the Woolwich Ferry which links with Eltham and Thamesmead / North Greenwich developments, plus the former Surrey Docks flats which are more the price range of university staff and key workers, such as the Ones for nearby Goldsmiths College). Also there’s now Stratford Olympic Village and all the shopping centres needing staff as part of legacy, students (of all kinds UK / Eire/ Commonwealth and European Union) could go to QMV, UEL, City, Guildhall and Goldsmiths via DLR and Overground, with onward bus or foot journeys to Kings College, LSE, UCL and Westminster. Yet to start in the property market at such a young age and with changing legislation and bye laws from Local, devolved and Westminster governance you would need to get professional advice from a Law centre or conveyancing centre such as James Urquart Stewarts Severn Investment on Londons LBC Radio or Barnes Rolffe Partnership on top of whether if a registered unwell person (the section 117 register in England) you have a legal practioner and accountant or tax advisor appointed in the County Court small claims post insolvency or general sessions if under the care of a community mental health trust and allocated as part of the Care Programme Approach agreed with the NHS Psychiatrist, Social Worker, Psychotherapist / Counsellor and Carer / Nurse This is depending on whether you have been a hospital patient or go to 2 or more groups organised by the NHS Community Health Trust (roughly 1 per UK Parliamentary constituency in Greater London with the Mobility component of Disability Living Allowance going towards a mini cab / black taxi / Dial a ride minibus to get there) The other alternative is Mind a national charity with registered charities in each London Borough and usually two / three meeting venues, some owned by the NHS Trust, some by them and some Drs surgeries / Faith Communities (though because you are then a patient in the community in a town / regional transport area your DLA is lower and you get a Freedom Pass or free bus travel). Both have the same minimum of two groups a week for getting DWP sickness benefits under the new ESA guidelines with optional voluntary work. These agencies look at property maintenance costs. Also Legal contracts between those who wish to share ownership including this scenario: I’ve failed my 1st / second year of a full time / Part time course, can I default on my friends or through the London student housing website, sub let my room so that someone else pays the money as a tenant to me and I keep my share in the House of Multiple Occupation, and if not can I change my status from full or part time student to full time employed and exams only distance learning resit for a year using charitable libraries, Birkbeck or similar university with a Sconul card or on state Employment and Support allowance and housing benefits (so that part time work can be combined with helping their partner write their essays and research notes so that they and your flatmates all pass) These agencies might also advise on buying foreclosed properties in the UK that are auctioned in their former owners home jurisdiction if he / she defaults on their mortgage or as part of the sale of a persons estate if they retire, are injured or need long term care as part of relocation to their home country that the English NHS might not provide for them (such as the NAFTA member Mexico / USA or ASEAN members such as Commonwealth territory low lying islands under either Australian, New Zealand or UK Sovereignty without the equivilant of Falkland Islands Oil deposits to subsidise their health care and the risks of Pacific Tsunamies).