Hi, I am caring for a relative who is receiving P.I.P. I want to switch from Jobseeker's Allowance to Carer's Allowance there is a lot of information online about which benefits are available I can't find anything about how long it takes to be awarded Carer's Allowance, when I should notify the jobcentre that I am applying for Carer's Allowance, and if I can claim Jobseeker's Allowance until I get Carer's Allowance? I was also wondering if I am eligible to receive backdated Carer's Allowance and whether I would still have to be on The Work Programme? I apologise for all the questions, but I'm sure there will be other people in the same position as me who will also find the information useful.

Hi all, I am now trying to apply for the JSA and when filling in the paper application form a question on Page 38 asks "at any time, have you come to live or returned to live in the UK from abroad? Who has come to the UK? What is their nationality? Which country have their come from? Was this to work in the UK? Has the Home office put a limit on how long they can stay in the UK? etc" if Yes, I am required to send passport or immigration documents to the JC. I went on holiday last year for a month and I am a british citizen. I really have no ideas of whether to tick yes or no. Any help would be much appreciated. (Done) ---------------------- How about someone who came to work and live in the UK from abroad a couple of years ago and have already obtained a UK passport, will the person tick YES or NO? Thank you (Done) "If they have lived in the UK before, When did they last leave the UK? " ---- (what to write if left UK for Holidays)

I have been on Jobseekers Allowance since March 2011, in June 2012 I was put onto the Work Programme, however I missed the first appointment due to a mistake at their end, however I received the following letter from the DWP today, the letter is dated 19th July 2012. We cannot pay you Jobseeker's Allowance from 25 July 2012. This is because we recently told you that a decision would be made about a doubt. -On whether you failed to take advantage of a place on the employment programme. We have now decided that you did not take advantage of a place on an employment programme and that you did not have sufficiently good reasons for doing so. This decision applies from 25 July 2012 to 7 August 2012. If you are looking for work, and you intend to dispute or appeal against this decision, or to apply for hardship payments, you should continue to provide signed declarations as instructed on your ES40. We cannot award National Insurance contribution credits for this period. We cannot pay you Jobseeker's Allowance from 8 August 2012. We cannot pay you because you have not been paid, or been credited with, enough Class 1 National Insurance Contributions. We have used the tax years ending 5 April 2009 and 5 April 2010 to assess your claim. I am miffed about this totally, firstly my first appointment on the Work Programme in June booked a date totally different to the one I was told on the phone so I missed the appointment, I explained this when a doubt arose a few weeks ago but the DWP have obviously gone against me, I am fuming about this, I have attended every appointment on the Work Programme since their cock up. Also why is my Jobseeker's Allowance stopping due to lack of National Insurance contributions? I thought this was only if you were on Contribution based Jobseeker's Allowance, I am on Income Based. Now I am not gonna get paid next Friday 3 August because of this sanction, can I apply for a crisis loan next Friday to make up for the lack of payment? I fully intend to appeal this sanction but what about my Jobseeker's stopping completely on 8 August? Well basically my Jobseeker's has finished today because of the 2 weeks sanction then stopping it completely in 2 weeks time. I am very annoyed and angry about this, please help.

Hello, I am soon to claim JSA (end of Aug 2010). I understand that my NI contributions for the tax years ending 2008 and 2009 will be used to determine whether or not I receive contribution or income based JSA. However, I did not make any NI contributions between April 2007 and November 2007 (I wasn't in employment or claiming JSA). So: From April 2007 to November 2007 I was making no NI contributions From November 2007 to February 2008 I was claiming income based JSA From February 2008 to September 2009 I was in full time employment From September 2009 to March 2010 I was claiming income based JSA From March 2010 to August 2010 I was in full time employment However, as I said, I understand that any contributions made after April 2009 aren't taken into account. So the question is again as I did not make any NI contributions between April 2007 and November 2007 will I still be able to claim contribution based JSA? It's just that I'm worried about any savings that I may have. I hope that all of this makes sense Thanks very much for anybody who can help me, it's -very- much appreciated.