Mayor joins local MPs in a special video message to the community
Mayor John Biggs has joined Rushanara Ali, MP for Bethnal Green and Bow and Apsana Begum, MP for Poplar and Limehouse to record this message to the community of Tower Hamlets.
Together, they've urged people to play their part in protecting themselves and others by following government and NHS advice and working together with the community.
Continued funding and support for the voluntary and community sector
The council has committed to continued support of our vital voluntary and community sector through the current coronavirus pandemic.
This will include organisations funded through the Local Community Fund, small grants and funds for those transitioning from mainstream grants as well as a range of commissioned services including children and older people, health, domestic abuse, disability, advice and employment.
We will also continue to fund organisations whose grants are due to come to an end.
Local updates and advice
The council has a dedicated webpage containing the latest health and local advice, which you can visit at www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/coronavirus
This includes information for residents and business owners alike, and we are adding further details each day on things like:
- Housing benefit
- Council tax
- Community support
- School closures
- Changes to Idea Stores
- Support for market traders
Please think of others when you shop
We are echoing the government's plea today that people should be responsible with their grocery shopping and think of others.
There's more than enough food to go around, so please only shop for what you need. Stockpiling is preventing access to food for those who need it, including NHS staff.
Supermarkets are doing what they can to help, including imposing limits on how many of each item people can buy:
- Tesco is limiting customers to three of any product, and only two of toilet roll and paracetamol.
- Sainsbury's is allowing people to buy up to three of any grocery product and two of more popular items like toilet paper, soap and long-life milk.
- Asda will let people purchase up to three of any food, toiletry or cleaning product.
- Aldi is limiting customers to four of any product.
- Waitrose is allowing people to buy only three of any grocery product and two packets of toilet roll.
- Iceland is limiting online orders to customers who are over state pension age, self-isolating and other vulnerable people, such as the disabled.
Some stores are dedicating certain times throughout the day to NHS staff and other times to elderly and vulnerable shoppers, which we commend.
Our local, independent shops are also playing a key role at this time, and are often very well stocked, so do check them out and support them as much as you can.
Update on bin collections
Crews have been working hard this week to carry out refuse collection services across the borough in the wake of strike action last week and criminal damage to Veolia’s refuse vehicles overnight on Monday.
Our waste and street cleaning service operated with full resources on Thursday 19 March and Friday 20 March, including extra teams working in the afternoons to help catch up on a backlog of waste collections.
We know the disruption to waste collections has been a huge frustration to our residents. We share your disappointment over the service that has been provided by our contractors in recent weeks. Please be assured crews are working all weekend to complete collections.
Coronavirus: useful links
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