TOWN Hall bosses are getting the Christmas spirit helping the elderly with their winter fuel. It is just one of tidings of comfort and joy for pensioners and others in London’s East End agreed by Tower Hamlets council

By Mike Brooke

TOWN Hall bosses are getting the Christmas spirit helping the elderly with their winter fuel.

It is just one of a �9.2 million package of tidings of comfort and joy for pensioners and others in London’s East End agreed by Tower Hamlets council.

The old folk get a �100 council tax rebate to take pressure off winter fuel bills, the cabinet has decided.

“We know there are tough times ahead because of public spending squeeze,” said Cabinet Member Ohid Ahmed. “But we’re planning for that. We’re spending only on the things people know are important.”

Other financial measures agreed by the cabinet include helping unemployed school leavers and others into jobs and buying school laptop computers for 16-year-olds to help improve their GCSE studies.

The cabinet also voted to pump funds into more language classes for adults who don’t speak English to help them find work and to encourage students back into mainstream learning to reduce the number of unemployed young people.