Welcome pack in English

Welcome to North Yorkshire

People who have come here from other countries think that this information will help you settle in.

We hope that people you meet will be friendly and help you. No one should treat you badly or differently because of your race, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation or any disability.

Learning English

try to learn English
contact us and ask about English for speakers of other languages classes
go to our English adult learning courses page

Libraries and using the internet

Go to the library to use the internet. You will be able to read some websites in your own language. It is free to join the library. Staff will help you.

Libraries have lots of information. You can borrow books for free. There might be books in your language. Ask the staff.

Help to communicate

If your English is not good and you need to talk to someone who provides a public service tell them what language you speak. They will try to find an interpreter. This can take time to do.

If you need to read something and your English is not good tell the service. They might translate the document into your language or tell you what you need to know in another way.

Public services include the government, the council, schools, hospitals, the police and job centres.

Health services

Most people who live here can get free healthcare. It is important to get a local family doctor (General Practitioner). Go to a General Practitioner surgery near your home and ask to register.

You can phone the NHS 111 service anytime on 111. If you need an interpreter say what language you need. They will give you advice and help you get the care you need.

If you or someone else is very ill and you think their life is at risk phone 999 and ask for an ambulance. It is free to phone 999.

Dentists

Phone NHS 111 to find an NHS dentist. Most adults pay for dental treatment. Dental treatment is free for children up to the age of 16 or 18 if they go to school or college full-time.

The police

North Yorkshire is a safe place. The police try to keep everyone safe. Tell them if anyone commits a crime against you.

In an emergency:

phone 999 and ask for the police
it is free to phone 999 - it is an emergency if someone is in danger or a serious crime is happening

To talk to the police at other times phone 101. Find out more on the North Yorkshire Police website.

Tell the police if someone hurts you, threatens you or frightens you and you think it is because you are from another country, have a disability or have a different religion. This is called 'Hate Crime'. It is against the law and the police want to stop it.

It is against the law to be violent towards anyone in your family. You can get help to move if someone in your family is violent towards you. Phone the Domestic Violence Helpline anytime on 0808 200 0247 or the police.

The fire service

If you are in a building which is on fire get out if you can and phone 999 and ask for the fire service. If you see a building on fire or a fire outside which is out of control phone 999. It is free to phone 999.

Driving

To drive in the UK you must have a valid driving licence. Go to the motoring section on the government website to find out if your licence is valid and how to get a UK licence.

You must have motor insurance which covers you for the vehicle you are driving.

You must have car tax for the vehicle you are driving and an MOT certificate if the car is more than 3 years old.

Points to remember:

drive on the left hand side of the road
give way to the right at roundabouts
do not drive if you have been drinking alcohol or using drugs
do not use a mobile phone when you are driving
do not go faster than the speed limit

Somewhere to live

Private landlords and social landlords rent out accommodation. Councils and housing associations are social landlords.

The council can give you advice if you are in housing need. The council can help if your landlord is harassing you or if your private rented accommodation is not a safe and healthy place to live. The council might be able to give you more help but this depends on your immigration status.

Council tax

You will probably need to pay council tax to your council. Go to our about council tax page for further information.

Getting rid of rubbish

The council will collect domestic waste from outside your house regularly. They will collect rubbish which can be recycled as well.

You will need to put different types of waste in different bins or containers. Ask a neighbour or the council to tell you what rubbish to put in which bin or container and when they collect your rubbish. You must not drop litter, including cigarette ends, in the street.

You must not dump rubbish anywhere. Go to our bins, recycling and waste page for further information.

Watching TV

You must have a valid TV licence to watch or record television programmes. You need a TV licence to watch programmes using a television, computer, mobile phone, games console, digital box or DVD/VHS recorder.

You can pay for a TV licence in lots of ways including at the post office. Find out more on the TV licensing website.

Registering a birth

If you have a baby in the UK you must go to a Registration Office to register the birth within 42 days. It is free to register a birth. When you do this you can ask us to tell other services who need to know about your baby.

Contact us to find out where your nearest office is and to make an appointment, or go to our registering the birth of your baby page.

Help with young children

Children and family hubs help parents and carers of children. They are good places to meet people and make friends.

School

All children between the ages of 5 and 17 must go to school. Most children start school when they are 4. It is free to go to school. You might need to buy a school uniform.

The council will help you to find a school for your child. Contact us to or go to our schools admissions page.

Help with social care

Some people need help with daily living and staying safe. Children, older people and disabled people might need help.

Contact us or go to our social care for children page or social care for adults page to find out more. We can help with information. Sometimes we can provide support or pay for help for some people.

Work

Rules about working in the UK are complicated. Employers must check that you can work. Swiss nationals and residents from most of the European Economic Area can work. People from other countries usually need to apply under the points system. To find out more go to the GOV.UK website.

To work in the UK you need a National Insurance Number. Phone Jobcentre Plus on 0345 600 0643 to get one.

Phone The Pay and Work Rights Helpline on 0800 917 2368 to ask about:

the minimum wage
agricultural work
employment agencies
working hours
gangmasters

Phone Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Services on 0300 123 1100 to ask other questions about work and the law.

The Pay and Work Rights Helpline and Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service can talk to you in lots of languages.

Money and benefits

There are complicated rules about who can claim benefits. The rules are different for people who move here from the European Economic Area and for people from other countries. The rules change for some people after they have worked here for some time.

If you have permission to live here but have been told that you have 'no recourse to public funds' you cannot claim most benefits or tax credits or get help with housing costs. There is information about benefits on the government website.

You can get free independent advice from the Citizens Advice Bureaux. The Citizens Advice Bureaux website has some advice in different languages. You can also go to a local Citizens Advice Bureaux office. Look on the website or ask at a library to find a local office. You can phone Citizens Advice Bureaux on 0344 411 1444. You might be told to phone another number.