Jyrki Katainen (NCP), the Finnish prime minister, told the Finnish News Agency (STT) that the government would have to take "unpalatable" fiscal policy decisions next year.

"It is appropriate to promise that we will spare no effort to take decisions that are essential in order to defend Finnish welfare society," Katainen said.

Katainen's government aims to cut spending and raise taxes in order to reduce borrowing.

Jukka Gustafsson (SDP), the Finnish education minister, was quoted as saying by regional daily Aamulehti on Thursday that he would task a working group with looking into differential school funding, adding disadvantaged schools like those in areas with high unemployment rates should receive extra government cash.

"Differences between schools have grown in the 2000s," Gustafsson was quoted as saying.

High winds caused further power cuts in many parts of Finland on Wednesday, with utilities repairing lines severed by Monday's storm.

Utilities said Thursday morning that about 44,000 households remained without power at 7am.

Finnish Railways (VR) restored normal services on the Helsinki-Turku line but a replacement coach service continued to run between Tampere and Turku.

Four out of five Finns told a poll by the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities published on Wednesday that they intend to vote in the October municipal elections.

Despite advance enthusiasm, the turnout in the municipal elections is likely to be somewhat lower. The turnout in the previous municipal elections in 2008 stood at 61 per cent.

According to the survey, highly educated Finns, those in leadership roles and those over 60-year-old are most likely to vote in the elections.

STT

Nicotine gum and other medication to deal with tobacco withdrawal should be covered by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela), according to a statement on Wednesday by Finland’s Doctors Against Tobacco (DAT) network.

According to Olli Simonen, chairman of DAT, Kela should cover nicotine withdrawal treatments because nicotine and tobacco addictions are recognised illnesses, not voluntary habits. Both have been included in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD).

STT

Finland is to open a new general service number in 2013 to help keep the Emergency Response Centre Administration’s emergency number clear for real emergencies, Finnish regional daily Aamulehti reported on Wednesday.

Henna Virkkunen (NCP), public administration and local government minister, told the paper that the new service number is to be a 24-hour service for Finns in need of assistance but not in immediate danger, for example in the case of power cuts.

STT

At least 170,000 households across Finland were still without power on Wednesday morning following the storm which battered the Nordic countries on Monday, according to a statement by Finnish utilities.

Utilities told that they expect the situation to ease significantly during the course of Wednesday.