How to avoid the bankers problems and survive




1) Retail banking is protected and is being more so your wages and benefits going there are ok, savings up to £50,000 are protected under FSA guidelines (though the DWP rules that savings over £16,000 are regarded as taxable an you lose income support an have to pay for your own basic health care (dentistry, chiropody, and in England prescriptions tho...ugh there is a NHS prepayment certificate).

2) Speak to your housing benefit officer at the council and ask that in defence of your credit rating you want like the ill and elderly for your benefits to be paid in the following way:

a. Housing and council tax direct to the landlord and local authority so that you or your kids don’t overspend and end up on rent arrears.

b. Income support into a savings account

c. DLA into an account that can pay for your carer and treatment / transport where there is less concessionary travel than greater London (ie less frequent trains and buses and not the Freedom Pass) and you can ensure through the citizens advice / law centre that where they need help they and you have a contract of employment / taxi account as well.

d. Main benefit (ESA, Income Support, Incapacity Benefit) into a current or savings account with debit card to pay for utilities, food and the like.

e. Family allowance and Child benefit to the mothers account for paying for childcare and household expenditure so that the household functions.



That way the landlord can invest and maintain the property and if housing budgets aren’t raided, invest in new shared ownership properties which maintains the housing stock and allows for purchase of properties where insurance can’t meet the repairs for flood damage as part of its statutory duties (same for housing associations), you maintain day to day expenditure and can save for holidays if you don’t qualify for respite care.



3) Shares and unit trusts and other investments are regulated by the FSA / Financial services Commission (being reformed)

4) There are credit unions for lower interest on borrowing and higher for savings. These are counted in some local authorities as ‘protected assets’ which enable the council to borrow against for infrastructure (but not more current expenditure) depending on devolved assembly and government guidelines.

..Special promotion by HMRC, downloaded from MSN

Uma: "Tax credits will help us until I return to work"


If you have several children, tax credits can help put food on the table.



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Colin Gray, Photodisc, Getty Images

Life with several children can be a joy - but it also means more mouths to feed. If you're receiving tax credits to help support your large family, it's important to renew your claim - the earlier the better - to make sure you're getting the correct amount of money you're entitled to.



Uma, 26, lives in Birmingham with her husband James and her four children Joe, 8, Lillian, 6, Evie, 4 and Grace, 3.



James earns £20,000 a year as a chef. Uma has a Maths and IT degree, and is looking to return to work. The family receives around £8,000 a year in tax credits in addition to their child benefits.



A temporary solution



"Without tax credits we would really struggle to put food on the table. With six mouths to feed we need every penny just to keep things going. It would also affect the children's schooling, because without tax credits I wouldn't be able to put petrol in the car to drive them there. We live quite a long way from the nearest school, and it's a very long trip on public transport."



Uma says she would like nothing more than to start work and put her degree to good use. She says tax credits will help the family until then, and urges others to make sure they renew their claim.



Remembering to renew



The earlier you get the form in the better, because then you know you're getting the right money you're entitled to.

She says: "Claiming tax credits is just the first step really. You have to make sure you renew them each year. I put a reminder into my mobile phone to badger James to give me his P60, and then I can review the forms HMRC send me.



"I'd advise anyone struggling to provide for their children to do the same. The earlier you start, the better, because then you know you're getting the right money you're entitled to. If I have a question about the form I contact HMRC."



It's essential that you report any errors or changes in your personal circumstances to HMRC as soon as possible, otherwise you might be getting the wrong amount and could risk running up an overpayment that you'll have to pay back.



Where to get more help



All tax credits renewals need to be in by the 31st of July. To find out more about tax credits and renewing in particular, visit the HMRC website.



If you've received your tax credits awards notice, find out how to check it with HMRC's checklist.



This feature is based on a real case study although some information may have been altered.

At present the Jersey government is seeking to become totally independent from the United Kingdom if its way of earning a living (like the other crown dependant islands Guensey and Sark nearby) in terms of being a tax haven is removed by at statute at Westminster that has no representation in the elected house at present from them.




The channel islands have like other locations in the past been t...he equivilant of English Speaking Genevas who have stored and by having low taxes increased the wealth of individuals and companies so that these amounts can be withdrawn for use in their home nation for shares and businesses, the old adage of wealth being 'passed down the generations' for things such as rail infrastructure, privatised utilities and the like.



However in the past these laws have allowed for arms dealing and funding of related industries outside of lawful defence of nation states under the UN and international law that is recorded so as to prevent arms proliferation and ensure that nuclear energy is regulated by teh IAEA.



As such what could happen:



1) Constitutional unity within the Channel Islands in order to stabilise those states under teh Crown

2) Absorbtion into teh UK as part of a federal constitution with representation

The irish peace process moves forward today as in his elected official capacity as deputy first minister the former IRA member Martin McGuinness shakes hands with the present head of state of Northern Ireland and the rest of thh UK. Both are committed to peace and reconciliation, and further improvements and demilitarisation of teh countryside in Northern Ireland.

Also One day if Sinn Fein were to get an outright majority under teh stormont constitution, they could seek reunificatuion with the Irish republic. If that is the case then as part of that Ireland could be a republic in the commonwealth (head of which is teh Uk / English monarch and head of teh Anglican church in Ireland). As such the world moves on and peace continues through compromise.