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UniDays

An app providing free discounts for sixth form, college, university students and recent graduates.

You can create an account with your personal email address to start, but to verify your student status you’ll have to provide your institution name and your student email address. Otherwise, you can authorize via your student portal. Unidays will give you both options.

Student Beans

This is another app which provides free and similar discounts for sixth form, college, university students and recent graduates.

Council tax information

When booking student accommodation, understanding council tax can feel confusing. Council tax is a yearly charge paid in 10 or 12 monthly instalments throughout the year. It's charged per household rather than per person and is calculated by the value of your property.

Most full-time students are exempt from council tax, which means they do not need to pay it while studying. There is no age limit to this policy, so full-time mature students are also covered. To be classified as a full-time student, you must be on a course that lasts at least a year and requires at least 21 hours of study each week.

However, the household must be occupied exclusively by full-time students. Sharing a house with part-time or non-students usually means you need to pay. Part-time students may, however, be eligible for a reduction or exemption (e.g., if you are a student nurse).

If you're in a shared house with both full-time students and non-students, you'll get a council tax bill through the door each month. However, only the non-student tenants will have to pay it, as full-time students are still exempt.

So, if all of you are full-time students apart from one person, they'll have to pay the bill themselves. That said, they will receive a single-person discount of 25%.

Remember, at the end of your final year of university, you'll become liable to pay your council tax from the day after your uni's summer term finishes. This is usually in early June for undergraduate degrees but it can differ for postgraduates. Check with your uni to confirm the official end date of your course.

You will have to pay for the summer months between ending an undergraduate degree and starting a postgraduate one. During this time, you're not technically a student, so you're no longer exempt.

Furthermore, there have been various reports of councils charging students for the time between their tenancy starting and the date they move in. They sometimes argue that the property is technically unoccupied until you've physically moved in. And if you're not living there, they say the exemption for students doesn't apply and council tax must be paid.

If your council argues this, they are wrong. As long as you meet the criteria above, your council tax exemption kicks in from the day your tenancy agreement starts. It doesn't matter if you're actually living there. If your council sends you a bill on these grounds, contact them as soon as possible to appeal it.

But overall if you are unsure about any of the above, always check your council for the specifics.

City council bin timetable

You can check when your bins will be collected below, you just need your postcode and address: https://iportal.itouchvision.com/icollectionday/collection-day/?uuid=BCCCL9AHR2LD8259KCC868YE04000B7F01006BA4&lang=en

Registering to vote

You can register to vote at: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

You must be aged 16 or over to register. You can register to vote if you’re a British citizen or an Irish citizen.

You can also register if you have permission to enter or stay in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man - or you do not need permission - and you’re a:

Commonwealth citizen

citizen of Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal or Spain

citizen of another EU country, if you have had permission to enter or stay - or not needed permission - since 31 December 2020, and this has continued without a break

You only need to register once, and it takes 5 minutes!

To prepare for an election you should:

Check your eligibility to vote (you do not have to be a UK citizen to vote in UK elections)

Get your Voter ID

Educate yourself on the parties and their policies.

Vote! (either in-person, by post, or by proxy)!

Anyone wishing to vote will need to show photo ID to vote at polling stations. If you don’t have accepted photo ID, you can apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate.

Can I vote in Winchester and at home?

Being registered at both your home address and your term-time addresses doesn't necessarily mean you get two votes.

You will need to choose one address and vote in only that area, for:

UK Parliament elections

UK referendums

London Assembly and London Mayoral elections

You can't vote at both your term-time address and your home address at these elections. Voting in more than one location is a criminal offence.

For other elections you can vote at both your term-time and your home address. You can choose to vote in either or both areas (as long as the addresses are in different council areas) when you're voting in:

Local council elections in England

Police and Crime commissioner elections and mayoral elections

Useful voting tools:

Find out about candidates in your area:

https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/

Find your closest polling station:

https://wheredoivote.co.uk/

Does your MP represent you? Find out what they have been saying in Parliament:

https://www.theyworkforyou.com/

Take a look at some easy-to-digest information about politics:

Simple Politics (@simplepolitics) • Instagram photos and videos

Your Voice

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