Can i get help before my first wage?
Q. I am not from Britain and came over to Scotland to study. I have permission to remain under a graduate visa and have a job/additional study lined up to start in the NHS at the end of July 2022. I am not in work at the moment as I have literally just finished my course.
I have tried to apply for bar work/ cleaning work – anything that can get me some money, but haven’t been successful. I have “No recourse to public funds” stamped on my passport and biometric residence permit – is there any help I can get until I get my first wage in August?
A. No recourse to public funds means that you do not have access to public funds. Public funds are classed as disability benefits, council tax reduction, housing benefits, access to social housing, tax credits and Universal Credit.
Most people who apply under the immigration rules to come to, or extend their stay in, the UK must satisfy UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) that they can be maintained and accommodated from resources available to them, without recourse to public funds.
If an applicant is not able to fulfil this requirement, entry clearance to the UK or, if they are already in the UK, further leave to remain will not normally be granted.
If it’s a condition of your entry clearance, or leave to remain, that you must not have recourse to public funds, this will be stated on the back of your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) or in your passport. If you do have recourse to public funds, action may be taken against you and it may be difficult for you to obtain immigration leave in the future.
You are in an unfortunate situation where you have just finished university and are awaiting to start a new job. In between that time, you do not have funds to cover your outgoings and bills until your first wage.
Would it be possible for you to seek help from family or would your new employer offer a scheme where you could receive a small advance up front? Would you be able to speak to your mortgage provider or landlord and negotiate a plan to pay a reduced amount of money? It would be worthwhile speaking to all your creditors and explain your position to them.
We could offer you a foodbank voucher and help with telephone calls if you do not know what to say.
Q. I am going to be 75 in a few days’ time and I am in receipt of state retirement pension and disability living allowance.
I phoned the TV licensing department to ask them if I am entitled to a free TV license as my friend down at the pub told me that this would be the case when I
A. Pension credit is a means tested benefit for older people. The benefit is administered to people who do not qualify for the full state pension because they have not had enough national insurance contributions.
Pension credit is payable separately to your state pension. In order to get a free TV license, you will have to be over the age of 75 and be in receipt of pension credit.
Q, I found some valuable items in my
A. If you find something, whether or not you can legally keep it depends on: where it has been left or found, whether it is lost or abandoned and how easy it is to find the rightful owner.
As a general rule, when you find objects that you know don’t belong to you, they can be handed in to the police or a lost property office if you found them in a public place, like a bus or train.
After two months, if the person who lost the objects has not gone to the police station or the lost property office to look for them, you can claim them.
If you knowingly keep something that does not belong to you, it is an offence, but it might be difficult to charge you if no one knows you found it.
Q. I am looking to make an enquiry about Universal Credit and the savings and earnings threshold limits for benefits.
I am thinking of cashing in a personal pension with a lump sum and a weekly payment of £100.
I have also been told that if I was in receipt of housing costs within Universal Credit then I would not be required to look for work under the Universal Credit claimant commitment?
A. Universal Credit is a means tested benefit - this means that if you have savings of over £16,000 this would exclude you from these benefits.
Certain benefits like Employment and Support Allowance and Jobseeker’s Allowance also have a contributionbased element where they can be claimed for set periods of time if eligible.
The Department of Work and Pensions disregard savings below £6000.
If you have between £6000 and £16,000, £4.35 is deducted from your benefit under savings and capital for every £250 or every part of £250.
Your pension would be classed as unearned income and taken into consideration for the purposes of Universal Credit.
If you tried to deprive yourself of the capital by giving money away or spending it on a holiday, for example, it would be classed as deprivation of capital and you could be sanctioned or disentitled to the benefit if the Department of Work and Pensions felt you were deliberately trying to remain on the benefit or claim a benefit if the threshold was reached.
At the beginning of your Universal Credit application you would have signed a claimant commitment to look for work and your work coach would determine the steps you needed to take to look for work.
The housing element of Universal Credit is only paid to a tenant with a tenancy agreement and would depend on a number of factors, including the rent, the number of bedrooms and is it was a council home or private let property.
Receipt of housing benefit or housing element of Universal Credit would not entitle you not to look for work under Universal Credit, so it would be advisable to contact your Universal Credit work coach to clarify your claimant commitment.
Generally, unless the DWP determined you are unfit for work, then you would be required to look for work. The DWP could ask you to work full time. These rules will only change once you reach state retirement age which would be 67 in your case.