Life admin: Refers to one’s personal day-to-day chores that are of an administrative nature. This includes tasks such as personal banking, making appointments, paying your bills, responding to personal emails. (Urban Dictionary)
And, at this point in the semester there’s quite a lot of life admin to keep on top of. Here are some of the most essential to keep this year safe, healthy and hassle-free:
Register with a local GP
More than ever this year, it’s important that you have a local GP , and it’s quick and easy to register with a local practice.
To change your GP all you have to do is contact the GP surgery you want to sign up to and go ask them to register you as a new patient. You’ll fill out a registration form and a request will be sent to your current GP to transfer your records over. Easy peasy. You can find your nearest practice here.
Download the the Track and Trace app
As part of our University’s commitment to keep all staff, students and university community safe, we are requiring everyone on campus to download the NHS Test and Trace app. One important thing to remember is to use your term address when you register. To help, we’ve put together information about the app, including all University halls postcodes here.
Make sure your details are up to date
Speaking of term time contact details, you need to make sure all your details including your term time address and contact number are up to date in Campus Solutions.
Sort your council tax
All student-only houses are exempt from paying council tax, and houses that have a student living there with other people working are eligible for a discount. If you’re unsure, there is more information here for you to double check whether you need to be paying this.
However, even if you and the rest of your house are exempt from paying council tax, you still need to inform the council that you are a student in order to get a full exemption or a discount. If you are asked for any further evidence or an exemption certificate, you can get this from the Student Services Centre.
Register to vote
If you’ve moved house since you last voted you must register at your new address, and paying council tax doesn’t mean you’re automatically registered to vote in your local area. Everyone you live with needs to register individually and all you’ll need to hand is your National Insurance number and passport.
You can register to vote here.
Get vaccinated
Make sure all your vaccinations are up to date, particularly Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR), Meningitis ACWY and of course, COVID-19. If you want to know any more about what vaccinations you need then contact your local GP, who will also be able to book you in to be immunised.
Buy a TV Licence
You must have a TV Licence if you watch or record programmes on a TV, computer or any other device as they’re broadcast. Equally, if you download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer, you’ll need to buy a licence. You do not need a TV Licence to watch non-BBC programmes on online catch-up services, videos or DVDs clips on websites like YouTube or closed circuit television (CCTV).
A TV Licence costs £157.50 per household and if you get caught with not having one you could potentially be fined a lot of money, so make sure this is something that you get sorted when you first move in.
If you live in private accommodation, your list might also include things like household bill – check out our things you need to know and so as you move into your new student home.