Cambridge City Council Housing Benefit: Fill & Download for Free

Because they think that the world revolves around money, because the burden of dealing with endless growth and inexhaustible labour hasn't been shared, and because the rich don’t live in the real world.I wanted to lay off politics and write comedy for a while, but after seeing working class people get slurred for weeks, I feel I have to dip a toe back in.And honestly, this shit is fucking funny.You have a bunch of middle and upper class lefties telling 18 million working class people that they should trust the very people that have been fucking ignoring them for twenty five years!They also seem to be making the argument that a people that spawned one of the largest empires in human history, couldn’t run a piss up in a brewery without the assistance of fucking Belgium!Aye they did a much better job in the Congo than the British did with Zimbabwe.They also say that workers rights, women's rights, and equality and social justice are under threat, like the concepts were invented by the EU.Sorry lads, but we all went to Secondary School, such shameless attempts to rewrite history both amuse and annoy me.Go tell that shit to John Locke and the fucking Levellers.Go tell the likes of Fawcett, Newton, Bacon, Hume and Pankhurst they have the Germans to thank for freedom of expression.Tell them that the continent that spawned more dictators in the last hundred years than Britain did in a thousand, has the European Commission to thank for democracy.Tell them that with a straight face while I piss myself laughing.“And then Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Franco, Napoleon, Salazar, Petain, Tito and Vidkun Quisling all held hands and pissed on John Locke’s grave…... finally the tyrant was gone!”Best of all, none of the Remain voters actually like the EU anyway!Even the most ardent remain voter starts every argument with “Oh well, of course the EU needs reform…”So what, is a lack of money and confidence the only good reason for staying in a ridiculous overbearing institution that nobody likes?And I’ll also say this to start, the economic argument is a long way down the list for many working class people.There is a great story here around 41:00 minutes in told by the brilliant Niall Ferguson (a staunch Remainer) regarding the matter. He explains how the owner of the largest chain of off-licenses in Wales was introduced to him, told him that Lithuanian and Polish beer is their best seller, and then proceeded to tell him why he was not a Remainer when Ferguson naively assumed he would be.Why?Because the working classes accepted a possible economic hit and made the decision anyway. They didn’t care, they said “This may cost us, but do it anyway. We are a proud people and we don’t want to be a federal state in the United States of Europe.”That should have been the end of the matter.There are dozens of arguments against the EU that I prefer that don’t revolve around cash, and I can point at the lack of accountability for openers.The inability of ordinary citizens to indulge in the simple pleasure of going to the town hall and shouting at the twat that lauds it over you.Nobody gets to shout at Jean Claude Juncker do they?And remember that hilarious time when the EU's top court backed the European Commission and boosted pay for EU staff by 3.7%, instead of the smaller increase that the member states wanted?“Judges ruling on their own pay rise in one of the most obscene displays of judicial misconduct in human history? Endless hilarity Mr Verhofstadt!”What about the top-down nature of the European Commission, the draconian censorship laws, the continuing taxation without proper representation, the ridiculous overbearing laws that reek of old-school communism from the Eastern Bloc.And don’t even start me on internet freedom and Articles 11 and 13 or the European Court of Justice.I could go on all day, but as every Remainer answer seems to concentrate purely on coin, I shall address that issue thoroughly now.If you live in a house you don’t own, work for someone else, have ever needed to use state-funded services, or even just worried about paying a bill… ask yourself this one question.Do you benefit from an endless supply of cheap labor?Look at the “top answer” in here, what is he, a Ph.D from Cambridge?Yeah cheers mate.Oxbridge types with expensive degrees, MPs, the heads of giant conglomerates, BBC writers and Guardian journalists, I’m sure they all had a mega hard time competing with Romanian laborers and Polish bricklayers when the EU collapsed 28 borders and 5 million people moved to the UK.“Hey we had to compete with the working classes of Eastern Europe to get on a train once, its basically the same as living in a sink estate in Hull!”Yes, I bet John Snow suffered through an ordeal trying to get a council house.The well off probably struggled to find a place at a shite state school for their kids.And I bet they have an absolute nightmare seeing a doctor or a dentist.While my dad was sitting in a packed waiting room with 30 foreigners waiting 4 hours for an appointment, I’m sure he was thinking “I pity the middle-class Guardian readers that use Bupa!”The wealthy have a hard time too. That’s why they all say “Pah, just educate yourself and be a better job candidate you loser.”I don’t think we have to cede the economic argument by the way, there are several groups of wealthy educated types that do make a good case for leaving the EU, but they are much more rare.Not because it’s a tough argument, but because integrity is rare.The elites are purely motivated by self interest. Look at the middle-classes in the likes of London and Manchester. They want to keep house prices nice and high, so they can rent them out for extortionate rates while they go backpacking in Asia for a “year out” with Tarquin.They want to keep importing third-world labour so they can pay Polish blokes under the table at their businesses, keep rents high, and keep feathering their nests.The rich, the middle and upper-classes, the MPs and the like, they all want to stay in the EU because they know which side their bread is buttered.Most amusingly of all, despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of billionaires, millionaires, oligarchs, Brussels elites, bankers, big corporations and hedge fund managers are all pro EU (obviously) they point at the tiny fraction of wealthy Leave supporters like Dyson and Jacob Rees Mogg and say “Look! The rich want to leave Europe!”“Quick get a picture, its one of those rare-as-rocking-horse-shit elites that supports leaving the EU!”I didn’t actually vote for Brexit, but the last few years have swayed me because frankly, they insult my intelligence. How stupid do they think we are?They insult our intelligence, their betters.And we are their betters.Do you think someone is a bastion of morality because they can get themselves elected to high office or build a global company?It is the exact opposite.“To summarize the summary of a summary, I wouldn’t believe an MP’s radio!”The people, the producers, the working classes, are both the backbone and the moral compass of Britain.We care about hearth and home, about family and friendship and community.The elites care only for coin.And when a rare wealthy man of integrity stands up and points out that rent would be lower and wages would be higher if we had a sensible, managed process for immigration, they fall back to “racism and xenophobia”Here! In one of the most friendly, welcoming, and least racist nations in Europe.We, the backbone of Britain are being slandered by the elites because of their own shortsightedness and greed. We aren’t prejudiced, we simply know a broken system when we see it.The EU has fucked Europe. The outsourcing of labour in pursuit of endless growth with no thought for tomorrow has totally fucked both Europe and the world.Just to build their own wealth, they fuck the working poor. Brussels has strip-mined labour from economically struggling parts of the world, taking all of their young go-getters and thus, keeping poor nations in the doldrums perennially.This is why they are pissed off in both Britain and France.The French are even more Eurosceptic than the British are, why do you think they let us vote on the matter? Entirely because Cameron and our lot were all absolutely convinced we would vote to Remain!Emmanuel Macron: French would 'probably' vote to leave EUFrench are 'even more anti-EU than the Brits'French and Greeks like the EU even less than BritsThe big worry in Berlin is now France and its Eurosceptic voters | Hans KundnaniFrance is more euro-sceptic than Britain, survey showsCiti says the majority of French voters want a 'Frexit' referendumDo you think Paris has been on fire for 6 months because France is a nation of pyromaniacs?“I am so ‘appy they won’t let us vote for Frexit, I ave been setting Fiat Punto’s on fire every weekend for six months!”The jig is up folks. Working peasants are much more sensible than the elites think they are. This is why so many of them think that the sun needs to set on the “Empire of the Good” that the European Commission is so desperate to build.“Not scary at all.. I would trust this creepy MP with my life old chap!”The elites in the likes of Britain, Germany, and France will do everything they can to stop Brexit, Frexit, and any other mechanism that the working people of Europe may use to return power to the democratically elected leaders of Europe.We must continue to fight them, and our friends in Europe (the citizenry, not the Commission) will thank us for it come the end.We will ensure the people of Europe remain free.I’ll leave you with a nice quote from Mr Verhofstadt, who did a better job of talking me into leaving the EU in 30 seconds here than anything Farage has ever said!

I believe your friend would need to support herself without access to government unemployment benefits for the first 6 months. I'm not quite sure whether she would need to work for those first 6 months before being able to claim unemployment benefits or whether she just needs to support herself without access to benefits for those first 6 months. Anyway after satisfying the rules for that 6 month period, she can claim unemployment benefits; if she finds herself out of work and is actively looking for work. The Job Centre ( where she makes her claim for unemployment benefits - there are Job Centres in every town ) will want to see proof every 2 weeks that she is seeking employment.If your friend wants to study law as well whilst unemployed, and wants to continue claiming unemployment benefits; she would need to enrol on a part time course. You say your friend already has a degree. If that degree is of the same standard as a British degree, she can complete the 1 year full time or 2 year part time Graduate Diploma in Law to qualify as a lawyer; instead of a 3 year Law degree. Universities that run the 1 year full time / 2 year part time Graduate Diploma in Law includes; BPP University, The College of Law ( I think it is now called The University of Law ), City University London, South Bank University London, London Metropolitan University, Wolverhampton University, Nottingham Trent University , University of The West of England. There are about 30 institutions across England and Wales running this Law conversion 1 year course. If your friend Google's Graduate Diploma in Law; she'll find the full list. The Scottish legal system is not the same as the legal system in England and Wales; so if your friend wants to work as a lawyer in Scotland she would need to study Law in Scotland. It's a different course.Digression [ After completing that 1 year full time/ 2 year part time, she would then have to complete the 1 year course Law graduates complete. Then after completing that 1 year course ( also available as a 2 year part time course ) she can get a paid job as a trainee Solicitor or Barrister ( these are the two branches of the legal profession in the UK ). There are law firms out there that will pay for your friend to complete the 2 years of training ( the Graduate Diploma in Law + The 1 year course after that ) free of charge. But that sort of sponsorship is very difficult to get.Trainee solicitor salaries at the top law firms in London are paid as much as £90k per annum. But £25k per year as a trainee solicitor is more typical. After 2 years of training she will become a fully registered solicitor. Most trainee barristers are self employed; so don't get paid until they have built enough of a reputation to be invited to represent defendants in court. Most barristers tend to come from wealthy families. Familues who can afford to support their son or daughter till they start getting court work.If you want a £90k per annum job as a trainee solicitor; be warned that you will be up against Oxford and Cambridge law graduates. Next in the queue are law graduates from the the top London Colleges; such as The LSE, UCL, King's College; and Law graduates from Durham. But your friend's foreign language skills could prove to be useful.I should also point out there is no guarantee your freind will get a job as a trainee solicitor or barrister even if she passes all the exams with flying colours. There is an oversupply of law graduates in the profession. ]Returning back to what I was saying about the 1 year training course for graduates who don't have a Law degree from England or Wales. The rule for studying part time and claiming unemployment benefit; is that course class times should not be more than 16 hours per week. Nobody is going to check how many hours in the day she is studying as a part time student as long as she applies for jobs to keep her unemployment benefits. She can get benefits indefinitely whilst unemployed and seeking work. Currently £75 per week for grocery and heating costs. A lot more if she has children. £25k is the maximum benefit for claimants with children.Unemployed people can also claim their rent in full from the government. However the government has recently placed a cap on the maximum rent one can claim. Eg. In London The maximum rent one can claim for a 1 bedroom flat is £250 per week. A couple can claim up to £350 per week for a 2 bedroom flat. However in London and elsewhere in the UK most landlords want one month's rent and a month's deposit in advance. So if she were to rent a £250 per week 1 bedroom flat she would need ((£250 x 52 ) ÷ 6 ) as her deposit to move into that flat. Some landlords ask for 2 months rent as the deposit plus one month's rent in advance. So if she were to rent a £250 per week flat and the landlord wants her to pay 3 months in advance she would need ((£250 X 52)÷4) to move in. She can then claim rent from the government, after first making her claim for unemployment benefit, by taking the receipt she got from her landlord to the council office in her area. Eg. If she is living in Camden Town London NW1 she takes that receipt to Camden Town Hall, where she makes her claim for Housing Benefit. The government will pay the rent in full, provided it is not over the maximum limit. If the rent us over the maximum limit she will have to make up that difference herself out of the unemployment benefit money she will be getting in addition to Housing benefit.If she cannot afford to rent a flat, she can always rent a room in a shared house. The rent in a shared house can be as low as £30 per week, in cities such as Manchester, ( Manchester Metropolitan University runs the Graduate Diploma in Law course ). Manchester may be a cheap place to live but there are not as many jobs as in London. However it is much easier to survive in Manchester as an unemployed person than in London. Grocery prices in Manchester are a lot lower than in London as well. Some Polish people have been known to get around London's high rents by sleeping 3, 4, 5 or 6 to a room. But I don't know whether your freind would qualify for Housing Benefit living in illegally overcrowded accommodation.I should also make it clear that these Law conversion courses for graduates aren't free. And there is no government funding for 1 year Law conversion courses for graduates who already have a degree. You will need to ask your family to help you out with the fees. Failing that you will need to get a job if you don't have savings to pay the fees yourself. The 3 year Law degree for undergraduates is free in the sense you don't start paying back your student loan till you are earning more than £21000 per year. But I don't know whether your friend would qualify for a student loan to complete a 3 year law degree if she already has a degree. Student Finance England, the government organisation that manages that service can advice your friend. They have a website and telephone helpline.Degree courses in Scotland are free or low cost. The Scottish regional government pays university tuition fees for Scotland's residents. SAAS is the Scottish government organisation that deals with student funding in Scotland. But as a Scottish trained lawyer your friend would only be able to practice in Scotland.The High street banks used to lend graduates up to £50k to complete a Law conversion course, 4 year Graduate Medical degree, or a Master's degree in Finance. These “Professional Studies” loans were available at HSBC Bank, and at Barclays Bank. But I'm not sure whether they still do them. And I don't know what sort of security they want. If your parents own a house worth £500k; such loans are going to be easier to get I imagine. The £50k could be recovered from the value of the property if she defaults on the £50k loan.

The question is about UK not Europe. I live in the UK. I have lived in London, Rugby and now Cambridge. I have visited other parts as my partner is a Brit. UK is regional it will be different wherever you go. London is the best place, I love NY and California myself but when I was there I missed things that are only in London, like theatre culture, museums, the eccentric nature of people, the mix. True you can get some of it in New York and walk around too but it’s not the same quirkiness. That said New York is probably the closest city to compare.In general in the UK you can walk around, it’s not a predominant car culture like in the US, there is decent public transport (not just for the poor) and people now cycle more. The UK is definitely cheaper than the US now that the pound has gone down, the Brexit malarkey has soured things in some regions, but if you go to places like London, Cambridge, Oxford… it does not exist. Houses are expensive unless you want to live in certain parts of Scotland, Wales or a deprived area (but then you’d be hard pressed to find a job nearby).Shops are all sizes but there is now a growing trend to buy a lot online so some high streets have lost out in smaller places. Food is international, the restaurants have improved so much since I arrived from Italy (I am an immigrant).Schools are good compared to other European countries, you do not need to go for the private option, people freak out here because they have not seen what is like in other countries. That said they could do with teaching grammar and spelling more efficiently. There is less discrimination but there is still a gender pay gap in certain sectors. The problem is the cost of childcare, which makes it difficult for women to combine full time work and family commitments.The weather can be changeable but again it depends where you are. There are no extremes like in other countries. Where I live it rains much less than in other places and it never gets too cold (we have not seen a big snow fall for years).There is a strong sense of history, pageantry and tradition here, which I like. The healthcare is mostly free, although some people get private insurance from work. You pay for the medicines unless you are exempt.If you are poor/unemployed there is something called benefits, council housing and other help, often given by charities, I am not saying it’s perfect but it’s there.Like US I have found you can work towards a ‘dream’. I wanted to work in journalism when I arrived and I achieved it. I am on my second career. There are plenty of training opportunities like part-time diplomas and evening classes. Also free training to be had online through reputable companies. I like that.