People who aren’t on benefits may still be entitled to some National Insurance credits depending on their circumstances

Individuals failing to claim the National Insurance credits they are entitled to could find themselves receiving reduced state pension payments. Contrary to common misconception, these credits aren’t solely available to those claiming specific benefits.

National Insurance credits can fill gaps in your National Insurance record, which determines your state pension entitlement. Typically, these credits are awarded to individuals receiving certain benefits such as Carer’s Allowance and Child Benefit, preventing carers from losing state pension rights whilst looking after family members.

Nevertheless, there are four situations where individuals can obtain National Insurance credits without being in receipt of any benefits. Some of these aren’t awarded automatically, meaning people must claim their entitlement or face the prospect of missing out.

Training courses

Individuals aged 18 or over who have been placed on a government-approved training course by Jobcentre Plus should receive Class 1 National Insurance credits automatically. This only applies if the course duration doesn’t exceed one year.

Should you be over 18 and attending a government-approved training course lasting no more than one year without being referred by the Jobcentre, you may still qualify for credits but will need to make an application. This requires writing to HMRC, detailing the period for which credits are being claimed and explaining your eligibility.

Jury service

Individuals who are not self-employed and have received a summons for jury service may qualify for National Insurance credits covering their period of court attendance. To obtain these Class 1 credits, you must submit a written application to HMRC.

Partners of people in armed forces

To potentially qualify for National Insurance credits, you must be married to or in a civil partnership with a member of the armed forces and have accompanied your partner on an overseas deployment.

For those who departed for their posting after 6 April 2010 and are now back in the UK, Class 1 credits can be requested. If your overseas posting took place after 6 April 1975, you reached state pension age on or after 6 April 2016, and you’re not receiving Class 1 credits, then you may apply for Class 3 credits as an alternative.

Wrongly imprisoned

If the Court of Appeal, or Court of Criminal Appeal in Scotland, overturned your conviction, you’re eligible to apply for Class 1 credits. You must contact HMRC in writing, providing your National Insurance number alongside an explanation of your eligibility.

Information regarding the application process and submission locations for these credits is available on the Gov.uk website.

Class 1 National Insurance credits contribute towards additional benefits such as Jobseeker’s Allowance as well as your state pension. Class 3 National Insurance credits exclusively contribute towards your state pension qualification.

You can review your National Insurance record and state pension forecast online to identify any gaps that could be filled with credits, and to verify that any credits you’ve requested have been correctly applied.

The sale of 25-27 Coney Steet, home to health store Holland & Barrett, to developers Helmsley Group comes ahead of their regeneration of that part of the city centre.

Cllr Katie Lomas, the council’s Labour major projects spokesperson, said officials had skilfully negotiated the best deal for residents as they did with all commercial property.

But Cllr Paula Widdowson, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition, said the administration were surrendering what leverage the council had in the redevelopment of Coney Street for little in return.

The decision on Tuesday, March 3 to sell the shop comes as the council’s executive backed the authority’s Asset Management Strategy for the next five years.

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It sets out what the council plans to do with its property estate which is worth around £396 million and brings in about £6.9 million-a-year in income.

A council report stated the authority aimed to use its roughly 1,300 assets to produce positive outcomes for communities, generate income and reduce costs.

Those assets include the council’s West Offices headquarters, the Hazel Court tip and logistics hub, community buildings and land earmarked for new homes.

The council bought 25-27, Coney Street in 2019 to try and have influence over its redevelopment.

Plans approved in 2024 are set to see the street and the area behind it overlooking the River Ouse redeveloped, with work due to begin later this year.

A council report stated the influence the council had due to owning the shop helped get a riverside path included in the scheme.

The deal struck with Helmsley is set to see the newly-refurbished space let to the council for no rent.

It could then be offered to a commercial tenant by the council.

Other plans in the strategy include leasing land next to the LNER Community Stadium to Deep Green, the company behind plans to build a data centre there.

The firm plans to use excess energy generated by the facility to heat the stadium complex’s swimming pool.

Pop-up food and drink venue Spark’s lease has also been renewed for another five years as part of the strategy.

York Canoe Club is set to lease part of Rowntree Park’s maintenance depot for 15 years.

The club has been saving up for a permanent home which it has lacked for the last 20 years.

Choose 2, a social enterprise working with disabled children and adults, is set to lease a modular building in Hull Road Park where it has run a café since 2017.

A community garden could be set to be created in Strensall in 750sqm of land off York Road leased to the village’s parish council for a peppercorn rent.

Labour major projects executive member Cllr Lomas said the way the council was running buildings such as West Offices, where space is rented to other organisations, helped to cover costs.

She added deals with community groups allowed buildings to be put to use by residents rather than being sold off for a profit and support places like Rowntree Park.

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Cllr Widdowson said her party increased the council’s income while in power until 2023 but earnings had since stagnated.

She added the sale of 25-27, Coney Street was a poor deal, but council officers denied it would make a loss.

South Tyneside Council’s Planning Committee, at a meeting this week, voted unanimously to refuse an application for 410-412 South Eldon Street in the town’s Simonside and Rekendyke ward.

Plans from applicant Maytree Property Group were seeking permission for the change of use of a “C3 dwelling to a six-person HMO.”

Proposals for the four-bedroom property included six en-suite bedrooms, a communal kitchen / dining room and a cycle store in a rear yard.

The application falls against a backdrop of South Tyneside Council’s recent decision last year (2025) to launch an “immediate” borough-wide Article 4 Direction removing permitted development rights for small HMOs, meaning that planning permission is now needed for all HMOs across the borough.

The planning application from developers for 410-412 South Eldon Street noted work had started on the property in late-November, 2025, but that the “work or change of use has not been completed.”

A planning statement submitted with the HMO application noted “all bedrooms will be provided with an en-suite, ensuring a high standard of privacy and amenity for occupants” and that the internal layout “provides an appropriate standard of accommodation, exceeding the minimum space and daylight requirements”.

The planning statement added the site is “sustainably located” near public transport links and would “make an efficient use of [an] existing residential property, providing additional, high-quality accommodation that supports local housing needs without adversely impacting the character of the area or the amenities of neighbouring occupiers.”

During a council consultation exercise on the plan there were 17 representations in objection raising a range of concerns, including parking pressures, the “overconcentration” of HMOs in the area, impacts on community cohesion, noise and disturbance, antisocial behaviour, the plans setting a “precedent” for future HMO development in the street and more.

Councillor Kenneth Wood, Simonside and Rekendyke ward member, also objected to the development raising concerns about the number of existing HMOs in the area, the lack of off-street parking, impacts on emergency access, noise and antisocial behaviour, and asked for the Planning Committee to determine the application.

Council documents also confirmed there were two petitions objecting to the HMO plan with a combined total of 71 signatures.

The plans were formally presented for decision at a meeting of the decision-making panel on March 9, 2026, at South Shields Town Hall.

Council planning officers, in a report published ahead of the meeting, had recommended the plans for approval.

Council planners said the “greatest weight in deciding this application needs to be given to the NPPF [national planning policy framework] as opposed to local planning policy, given that the application includes housing development and the council’s housing land supply/delivery deficiencies”.

It was noted that the proposal would “provide social and economic gains by contributing to reducing the current shortfall in terms of housing supply” and that “no significant harm or adverse impacts have been identified in respect of visual and residential amenity, biodiversity, highway safety, or in respect of crime/antisocial behaviour/fear of crime and flood risk/drainage.”

During discussion of the planning application, concerns were raised by several members of the Planning Committee.

Councillor Lynne Proudlock said that “as a councillor for this ward, I genuinely believe that a well-run, well-managed HMO has a place in today’s society with the severe lack of affordable housing for people to rent”.

However, the councillor raised concerns about the lack of an on-site manager and existing parking pressures in the area, given the close proximity of a council Housing Plus scheme and associated activity around visitors and carers.

Cllr Proudlock added the HMO application should be refused on the “lack of availability of parking and also an overprovision of HMOs in the area leading to an imbalance in the community.”

Councillor Shirley Ford also raised concerns about the “cumulative impact” of HMOs in the area, parking issues “near a busy junction which regularly floods at the top of it” and impacts on the neighbours of the Housing Plus scheme.

Council planners said that there was no objection from the council’s highways department on parking and highway safety grounds.

In response to a question from councillor Paul Brenen on wider flooding and drainage issues in the area, council planners said because of the “scale and the nature of this [HMO] proposal”, the local flood authority were not consulted.

After being put to the vote, councillors agreed to refuse the HMO plans and cited several refusal reasons.

The proposal to refuse the HMO plan, from Cllr Proudlock, was made on the grounds of parking and highway safety, residential amenity impacts and the “overprovision of HMOs in the area.”

The applicant has the right to challenge the council’s refusal decision by lodging an appeal with the Secretary of State.

For more information on the plan, or to track its progress, visit South Tyneside Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 250776

Craig Alexander is no longer able to work and had to elarn how to talk again

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An architect put his headaches down to “work stress” – until a seizure revealed the devastating truth. Craig Alexander, then 35, had suffered with headaches and dizziness for years, which he put down to tiredness and dehydration from long hours working as an architect.

Craig, now 38, from Monmouth, Wales, also had tremors and visual disturbances which he put down to stress. But in early May 2023, he had a tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizure while in the car with a colleague, which saw him lose consciousness and begin jerking for several minutes.

He was rushed to hospital and a scan found a large tumour, 75mm by 35mm, deep and central in his brain – an astrocytoma. He had surgery as well as radio and chemotherapy which left him unable to walk or speak afterwards, due to the location of the tumour.

Craig is no longer able to work and is now an advocate for further research into brain tumours – and has regular scans to monitor the mass. He said: “Looking back, there were warning signs – but I put it all down to tiredness, dehydration and long working hours.

“Nothing prepares you for being told you have a brain tumour. One moment I was working, travelling and living my life as normal, and the next I was facing major brain surgery and the very real possibility of losing my independence.

“Because of the catastrophic risk of further impairment, there are no surgical options left for me. I live with a tumour. Right now, my focus is on my health and rebuilding my energy.”

After Craig’s shocking seizure he was blue-lighted to Hereford Hospital where an MRI was carried out and the mass was found in his brain. He said: “I was referred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham where I had a more detailed contrast MRI.”

He was told he had a tumour which had most likely been growing slowly for years. He was prescribed steroids to control his seizures and told he was no longer able to drive.

Craig was warned if the tumour continued to grow, he could lose his sight, mobility or worse – and underwent a seven-hour craniotomy to get a biopsy. He said: “The impact of the surgery on my brain was catastrophic.

“The only way I can describe it is like having a stroke. Because the tumour was centre-right, afterwards I couldn’t walk and I couldn’t speak. It was an incredibly traumatic experience.”

He got private speech and physiotherapy due to NHS waiting times, and has now almost fully recovered. Craig said: “I still drag my left foot occasionally and my left side remains noticeably weaker.”

He had chemo and radiotherapy, which left him sleeping for 15 to 18 hours a day, and he still suffers with fatigue. He eventually stopped working as a result and needs regular scans to monitor the condition of the tumour.

He said: “Radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment saved my life, but it has also changed it forever. I’ve had to give up my career, live with ongoing fatigue and uncertainty, and learn to accept a new version of myself. Brain tumours don’t just affect your health, they take away your future plans, your confidence and your sense of normality.”

Craig is supporting the launch of a manifesto for Wales by leading charity Brain Tumour Research at the Senedd today (March 11) that calls for urgent action to transform outcomes for brain tumour patients.

Craig said: “Something as basic as getting a blood test before a contrast MRI became a major ordeal at one point I had to travel to Hereford (from Wales) just to have my bloods taken.

“There is a real lack of joined-up care and follow-up, and it often felt like I was falling through the cracks. When you’re dealing with a brain tumour, you shouldn’t also have to fight the system to get the most basic parts of your care.”

Dr Karen Noble, Director of Research Policy and Innovation at Brain Tumour Research, said: “Brain tumours are the leading cause of cancer death in children and young people, yet patients (in Wales) are being locked out of innovation.

“Our manifesto for Wales is a clear, evidence-based roadmap to change by expanding access to clinical trials, embedding whole genome sequencing into standard care, and committing to targeted research funding. The time to do things differently is now.”

It’s one of the most prestigious honours for health and care charities in the UK

A Belfast-based charity that’s improving the physical and mental health of LGBTQIA+ people has scooped a top influential UK health award.