When you look for legal advice make sure it is one fully trained in Welfare rights, that way you know for certain you are paying someone who knows what they are talking about. Not that I'm saying some solicitors are crap!!

These everyone seems to want to sue everyone else for minor injuries just to get some cash. But if the NHS done something minor, but a company told you to sue, would you? For instance, you are in hospital and they leave the drip on high into your hand and it swells up twice the size. It's very painful, and the staff don't seem to be bothered and just leave you. Hours later the shift changes and the first nurse in quickly turns the drip off. It then takes over 24hrs for the swelling and pain to go away. Now some people may try and sue for that and would probably get a few hundred quid, however I wouldn't even think about it. It would be another matter if I'd lost the hand , but it was only a 24hr issue and mistakes are made. I look at suing the NHS as taking away treatment from someone else, and so would only use it as an option in the most serious of cases. What do you think?

As usual it is that time of year when the government tax, sorry fee, increase on visa applications, a wonderful tax (oops, fee,!!) that screws those of us who do everything the legal way. Fees are generally going up 2%. This may not look bad but then we have increases like the one on Tier 1 (General) Extension which currently costs a remarkably low £1000, increasing slightly to £1500!!!

Since February 2012 some people have had to wait almost 11 months for their FLR(M) visa application to be processed by the UKBA . Although most of us don't believe in miracles, it seems that the UKBA is now starting to get on top of the backlog, although they still have a good number of 9+ months outstanding. For people who applied after July 2012 the processing time was 3 months, which as many UKBA responses on the FOI site point out, they do everything date order .... erm!!!!!

Fiverr, oDesk, Elance, Freelancer, Turk, etc. You make as much as you want to make, and educate yourself online to enhance your abilities so you can offer more services. It's called bettering yourself. If you can read on a computer screen then you can learn. If you can type on a forum/blog, then you are already doing work others pay for. You don't have to earn a living wage, which you can if you put the hours in, but you can use it to top up your benefits without effecting them as long as you declare it.

If you can type on a forum then you CAN work, get an online job doing just that. Plenty of online jobs exist

So your income is being devalued over time with inflation, you are struggling to pay bills and debts, maybe using one payday loan after another, or your credit card to pay off another credit card, so month on month you are digging a deeper hole rather than filling it in. This causes untold stress, problems, it may even effect your relationship with the love of your life. As soon as you realise you are slipping into a routine like this get control of it straight away. This may sound SIMPLE.... well it is SIMPLE. Creditors want the money back but these days they are used to people struggling and are usually more than happy to come to a deal with you. So fill out a budget sheet (free on the internet), work out what you can pay each creditor while leaving yourself some spare, then contact all your creditors, include in the cover letter that this month you will make a 'token' payment while they make a decision, say £5 to each creditor. This should then help you clear the payday loan loop. If you can't do this yourself, contact Stepchange and they will do it for you, it is FREE

Steven Hawkings manages to work .... I rest my case Everyone can do some level of work, I know a number of chronically disabled people who choose to work, and enjoy doing it. My sister has just finished chemo for breast cancer and has only missed work for hospital visits, and she will continue to work after her op and during radiotherapy. If you want to work, you can, health issues are just an excuse for some people. Your diabetes will be under control once the diagnosis is complete.

I love Windows 8, it is much faster and reliable than Vista and 7, but with Microsoft trying to force people to use the tiles has put a lot of people off it. Fear not, as soon as I installed Windows 8 I changed it into a Windows 7 clone with its look and feel Simply search and install: Classis Shell 8Gadgetpack Instantly you now boot to the Desktop, your Start button has returned, and your gadgets are back

So Teresa May took a big bold step and scrapped the UKBA and is going to bring it back into her embrace! Hang on a minute, a few years ago under Labour the immigration failed, and had one hell of a back log so they split it up to make the UKBA .... which has now failed and has a hell of a backlog ... deja vu ... guess what will happen in another few years!!!

I'm just waiting for the letter off my GP so I can forward my application for DHP. I'm a war pensioner and my MP helped get me this place in 2000 as I can only live places with no stairs. I'm supposed to have one extra bedroom but my lad stays 1 week a month, and I use the spare for physio. Plus I paid thousands out for a Jacuzzi so I didn't have to travel the hospital each week for treatment.

I get a lot of cycling clubs where I live and they all behave correctly on the roads, however most people don't. Cycling over pedestrian crossings is so annoying I just want to run the buggers over. Then when they are on the road and get to a red light they switch to the pavement. If we done that in a car we'd get done. They need to stick to the rules of the road before we start protecting them. I used to cycle a few hundred miles a week before my health went against me and I was knocked off 3 times when doing thing right!!

I can really recommend StepChange as they helped my sister out a lot with a DMP and she has gone from high stress and worry to having her life back again.

You'd be lucky for the bank to do that, they tend to plead stupidity in such things

You can appeal, but don't expect them to rush (which government agency does, 10 months to process my wifes ILR visa!!). You will need to refresh your medical evidence. I would recommend one from your specialist, GP and if you can afford it, and independent one.