UK Conservative election win - are more visa changes likely?

[bobrussell]

johnch1213, I am not claiming to know more than Leicestershire County Council, but I have actually read all the relevant information on their website; which you obviously have not.

Personal experience has also shown me that in many instances council officials have only a very basic understanding of the immigration rules; and often none at all!

If you want more details on the financial requirement, read this.

DLA is not purely income related; ESA is not one of the benefits which allow the requirement to be met by adequate maintenance.

Before making sarcastic comments about other people's posts, you really should check the accuracy of your own!

If you get in contact with the loughborough moira centre they will indeed inform you that you are able to get a discounts on the courses that they administer and on that point I will say No more as you really are talking out of your arse

Don't know about the Loughborough Moira Centre but Leicestershire County Council (which I believe covers Loughborough) clearly states:

http://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/golearn_adult_learning_nth_charnwood_2012.pdf

page 6:

Courses are available at the stated fee to all who have been resident of the UK/EU/EEA for 3 years

You are not the only one that can Google. It is possible that a staff member has made a mistake and offered a discounted course but you can be pretty sure someone will correct it.

Of course there are non-council courses which can charge what they like and discount all they like.

Officially discounts are not available for non-EU arrival until they have lived in the UK for 3 years. Not 7by7 talking through his ar*e.

[Jay Sata]

I must say I find it sad that anyone offering information here is often pilloried by some of the long time residents and experts.

It is not polite to accuse someone of being a troll.

It does not take much looking to see there are plenty of free English courses on offer

in the UK.

Eighteen months the Department for Communities and Local Government established a programme of informal classes, often run by volunteers, to be held in temples, mosques and churches and even in supermarkets.

Pilot schemes are held in fifteen London boroughs and in several regional towns and cities such as Manchester, Birmingham, Leicester, Sheffield, Bristol, Luton and Slough.

There are also many charities across the UK offering free English lessons such as this in Eastbourne

http://englishinthecommunity.org.uk/what

That charity also has course in Islington London.

Harlow in Essex has the Integration Support Service charity

http://www.iss.org.uk/2015/02/english-classes-english-classes-english-classes/

In Bournemouth.

http://www.anglo-continental.com/en/uk/free-lessons.html

And in Luton the University of Bedfordshire offers free English language lessons for all adult non-native speakers of English.

This from their website...

The classes are part of our teacher training courses and are taught by our student teachers.

Who are the free lessons for?

The English language lessons are suitable for all adult, non-native speakers of English who have from elementary (low intermediate) up to more advanced (upper intermediate) English language skills.

Edited June 2, 2015 by Jay Sata

[bobrussell]

Nobody is saying that there are no alternative courses. The poster stated that the local councils ran subsidised courses as a means of allowing people to learn English to the standard he feels is appropriate. It has just been made clear that councils do not make these subsidies available until someone has been resident for 3 years. In response comments regarding talking out of an unusual orifice have been forthcoming.

Edited June 2, 2015 by bobrussell

[johnch1213]

Nobody is saying that there are no alternative courses. The poster stated that the local councils ran subsidised courses as a means of allowing people to learn English to the standard he feels is appropriate. It has just been made clear that councils do not make these subsidies available until someone has been resident for 3 years. In response comments regarding talking out of an unusual orifice have been forthcoming.

I suggest you telephone the place that I said about and ask them as to what discounts are available and then you will find that you can indeed get a discount on the cost of a course. These types of courses are nothing to do with higher or further education they are help in local libraries and NO I will not bow down to a certain member who seems to think, that everything he has to say is gospel.

[bobrussell]

Nobody is saying that there are no alternative courses. The poster stated that the local councils ran subsidised courses as a means of allowing people to learn English to the standard he feels is appropriate. It has just been made clear that councils do not make these subsidies available until someone has been resident for 3 years. In response comments regarding talking out of an unusual orifice have been forthcoming.

I suggest you telephone the place that I said about and ask them as to what discounts are available and then you will find that you can indeed get a discount on the cost of a course. These types of courses are nothing to do with higher or further education they are help in local libraries and NO I will not bow down to a certain member who seems to think, that everything he has to say is gospel.

Council run courses are courses of higher or further education.

The legal situation is perfectly clear. Council run courses are not available at subsidised rates for non-EU partners who have been resident for less than three years. It is clearly stated in the council link I posted.

If there is a member of staff that says differently then there is a chance they are unaware of the rules. If someone gets on the course and is not asked to pay the full rate then good for them.

Adult learning classes in libraries are generally run by the county councils (where they exist) so are not subsidised. Other courses may well be run and they may take place in libraries but your original post stated that there are subsidised council courses. Again to be accurate council run courses come under the Adult Learning classes and councils are (and usually do) charge the full rate as the government does not subsidise until a person has been in the UK for 3 years.

The subsidies come via the Skills Funding Agency.

Edited June 3, 2015 by bobrussell

[johnch1213]

Nobody is saying that there are no alternative courses. The poster stated that the local councils ran subsidised courses as a means of allowing people to learn English to the standard he feels is appropriate. It has just been made clear that councils do not make these subsidies available until someone has been resident for 3 years. In response comments regarding talking out of an unusual orifice have been forthcoming.

I suggest you telephone the place that I said about and ask them as to what discounts are available and then you will find that you can indeed get a discount on the cost of a course. These types of courses are nothing to do with higher or further education they are help in local libraries and NO I will not bow down to a certain member who seems to think, that everything he has to say is gospel.

Council run courses are courses of higher or further education.

The legal situation is perfectly clear. Council run courses are not available at subsidised rates for non-EU partners who have been resident for less than three years. It is clearly stated in the council link I posted.

If there is a member of staff that says differently then there is a chance they are unaware of the rules. If someone gets on the course and is not asked to pay the full rate then good for them.

Adult learning classes in libraries are generally run by the county councils (where they exist) so are not subsidised. Other courses may well be run and they may take place in libraries but your original post stated that there are subsidised council courses. Again to be accurate council run courses come under the Adult Learning classes and councils are (and usually do) charge the full rate as the government does not subsidise until a person has been in the UK for 3 years.

The subsidies come via the Skills Funding Agency.

As said before telephone the center and ask them but really it makes very little difference what was being said for FLR the English requirement should be B1 and for ILR it should be B2

[bobrussell]

I have absolutely no intention of contacting the centre. I have provided an official link that shows anyone suggesting a discount was available would be making a mistake.

I have no argument with the principle of B1 for FLR but the only reason I could see for requiring B2 at ILR would be to increase the numbers having to keep re-applying for FLR.

B2 is completely ridiculous as a requirement for ILR because it exceeds the capabilities of many native speakers:

It requires:

• Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in your field of specialisation
• Interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party
• Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options

[theoldgit]

This thread poses a hypothetical question so please stop the bickering.

[theoldgit]

Last chance, please stop the bickering.

[theoldgit]

Post in breach of Forum Rules removed.

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[johnch1213]

The Conservatives seem to be doing what most people wanted them to do!

Tories plan to kick 30,000 nurses out of Britain because they weren't born here

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tories-plan-kick-30000-nurses-5925812

[bobrussell]

I very much doubt anybody wants fully qualified and experienced nurses to have to leave the country. The nurses would not be kicked out because they weren't born here. They might have to leave under the terms of some very poorly thought out rules which were introduced (from memory) in 2011.

It was in the rules that anybody earning less than a certain sum at the end of a six year period working in the UK would be expected to leave. These nurses would have been aware that after six years they would have to leave if they were on too low a salary. I assume this was to limit the numbers on low pay that qualified for ILR on the basis of 10yrs 'long' residence.

Clearly most people are going to find the idea daft and I suspect a way will be found around the problem.

A number of aspects of the changes in immigration rules were very poorly thought out. The cynic in me suspects that the coalition doubted they would be in power at the time so it would be someone else sorting out the mess. The Lib Dems were quite right but the Conservatives have been left 'holding the baby'!

Edited June 22, 2015 by bobrussell