A SPECIAL 'recession resilience' conference has been organised by the council after the borough saw a 27 per cent rise in people claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA).

The event, planned for Wednesday, October 14, will focus on what the authority has done, and what it could be doing, to help Redbridge weather the downturn after new figures showed the number of people claiming JSA had jumped from 5,750 to 7,343 between February and August.

A council spokesman said the conference, which begins at the Kenneth More Theatre in Ilford at 9.30am - will: "include a mixture of presentations and workshops. There will be a number of speakers including Mark Kass, Chair of Enterprise Redbridge, Gary Ince, Chief Executive of North London Business, and Cllr Keith Prince, Leader of the Council.

"Some of the things the council has already put in place to help the borough through the recession includes cutting licensing fees, capping street trading fees at £2,000 and producing a series of leaflets pointing residents and businesses to recession help."

Attendance is by invitation only.

For more information email: numan.hussain@redbridge.gov.uk