Saturday
03 January 2009
Return the Cash says Prentice

Pendle
MP, Gordon Prentice, is calling on the Conservatives
to return a series of cash donations from a multi
millionaire living in the tax haven of Monaco.
The MP said: "The breathtaking news that the
tax exile, Lord Laidlaw, gave L100,000 to the Conservatives
last year is only matched by that Party’s astonishing
decision to accept the tainted donations."
"A year ago I introduced a Bill
which would disqualify Members from the House of
Commons and the House of Lords if they were not
resident in the UK for tax purposes. The Bill ran
out of time but its purpose is as relevant now as
ever. People who make the nation’s laws should
pay its taxes."
"When Irvine Laidlaw was ennobled in 2004 he
told the House of Lords Appointments Commission
he would become a UK resident for tax purposes.
He reneged on that solemn promise."
"As a tax exile, living in Monaco,
he continues to bankroll the Conservatives, out
of reach of the Revenue and Customs."
"The Conservatives should
return the money immediately."
31 December 2008
New mobile library service
for rural Pendle

A new and improved mobile library has been launched
in Pendle, taking the county council's library and
information service to local residents living in rural
areas.
The new replacement
mobile vehicle offers an improved service and better
customer access to people living in some of the
most remote parts of the county and for those who
find it difficult to get out and about.
The service operates daily on a two
week rota visiting areas in Pendle, including:
Nelson, Colne, Briercliffe, Barnoldswick,
Barrowford, Earby, Gisburn, Sawley, Middop….
and many more
As part of the replacement service
Lancashire County Council has provided each van
with £10,000 for new books. The new mobile
vans also have improved access for people with mobility
problems and disabilities, fitted with low rise
stairs and a passenger lift for easy access so that
customers can board to select their own books, and
an induction loop system has been fitted for people
with hearing impairments.
Each vehicle has been designed to
feel as bright and spacious as possible in keeping
with the newly refurbished libraries in Lancashire
as part of the Regenerate scheme to transform and
modernise library services and to ensure customers
enjoy a comfortable and relaxing library experience.
In addition, partner agencies and
other organisations such as the Police and Fire
and Rescue will be able to use the mobile library
to deliver important information and advice to people
in hard to reach areas.
County Councillor Anne Brown, cabinet
member for adult and community services said:
"I am delighted that we have
been able to provide these new mobile libraries
to provide a much improved standard of service to
some of the most rural parts of Lancashire. Mobile
Libraries always receive very positive feedback
from their customers and I know that the service
is much appreciated by its current users. I’m
sure that everyone who uses these vans will find
them as attractive and welcoming as I do."
New customers are always welcome
and full details of the times and locations of mobile
library stops in the Pendle area can be obtained by
contacting Burnley Central Library on 01282 437115
or by visiting online at www.lancashire.gov.uk/libraries
Monday 15 December 2008
Equitable Life Policyholders
should be compensated says Prentice
Thousands of people, including
many in Pendle, who entrusted the world’s oldest
mutually owned insurance company, Equitable Life,
with their savings and whose pensions have, in many
cases, been savagely reduced as a result of maladministration,
should receive an apology from the Government says
Pendle MP, Gordon Prentice. They should also get appropriate
compensation. The MP serves
on the Public Administration Select Committee whose
report on the Equitable Life saga is published today.
The report unequivocally supports the Parliamentary
Ombudsman who wants to see a compensation scheme
established to pay for the loss that has been suffered
by Equitable Life’s members.
Speaking from Westminster, the MP
said: "Like every other MP, I have constituents
who were the innocent victims of a decade of regulatory
failure. They thought they were putting their money
into a safe and secure mutual and they relied on
the regulators to alert them if anything was untoward."
"The report makes it clear that
the central story of the Ombudsman’s investigations
is the failure of the regulators to exercise the
powers they had to ensure that a company with a
sound reputation was in fact observing minimum standards."
The MP added: "This saga stretches
way back into the 1990s, even before the current
Government was first elected, and policyholders
have had to wait far too long for justice. The Ombudsman’s
report paints a damning picture of the prudential
regulation of Equitable Life for over a decade."
The Government is expected to respond
early in the New Year to the Ombudsman’s report
which was published in July 2008.
The Public Administration Committee’s
report can be read on the internet at www.parliament.uk/pas
Thursday 11 December 2008
MP backs move to ban
Point of Sale Tobacco Products
Local MP, Gordon Prentice, is backing plans by the
Government to prohibit the display of cigarettes and
other tobacco products at the point of sale.
He
is signed up to a Commons Motion tabled by David
Taylor, the MP for North West Leicestershire and
a longstanding Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
campaigner.
Speaking from Westminster, Prentice
said: "ASH reminds us that smoking is associated
with more than 50 different diseases and disorders
– many fatal. We have known for over half
a century that smoking causes cancer yet we still
allow tobacco to be promoted and displayed. People
who continue to smoke lose an average of 16 years
of life."
The Commons motion reads:
That this House welcomes the Government's
announcement of legislation to prohibit point of sale
display of tobacco products in the 2008 Queen's Speech;
notes that the Department of Health estimates that
this will lead to up to 2,800 fewer young people taking
up smoking each year, saving many thousands of lives
in the longer-term; and calls upon the Government
to commit itself to open, full and genuine consultation
with all affected and interested parties on the most
effective means of implementation of this legislation,
in line with its obligations under the World Health
Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
which requires it to protect its public health policies
from the commercial and vested interests of the tobacco
industry.
Tuesday 2 December 2008
Nelson Youth Centre wins 'myplace'
funding
 Councillor Mohammed Iqbal,
Bradley ward councillor, said: "This is fantastic
news for residents in Nelson, but more so for the
people of Bradley ward. “It
has been a long time coming but I would like to
thank the county council for doing the leg work
on this.”
More than 450 young people, aged 11
to 25, are expected to benefit from the new facility,
which will feature a multi-use games area, internet
cafe and computer room,.
Basic literacy and numeracy skills
courses, careers, training and employment information
are among the first services to be offered from
the hub.
Residential courses are planned and
classes for the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme are
set to be based there.
Pendle MP, Gordon Prentice, was also
delighted to learn of the success of Nelson’s
Leeds Road Youth Centre bid for government funding.
The MP said "£1.3 million
has been awarded for a new youth and community centre
on the Leeds Road site. This is excellent news and
a great achievement for all involved. The money
comes from the "myplace" pot, worth over
£200 million, to provide safe places for all
young people to go to and take part in a wide range
of activities.
“You can do a lot with this
huge sum of money. I’m sure young people in
the area will be over the moon.”
The centre will benefit 11-25 year
olds with a focus on 13-19 year olds Its design will
be led by local young people and offer arts, music
and drama workshops. There will be a cafe with internet
access, an IT suite music studio and an indoor sports
area.
Tuesday 2 December
2008
Books for Africa
Local MP, Gordon Prentice, has
joined over 50 fellow MPs to pledge support for Book
Aid International, a charity working in twelve countries
of Sub Saharan Africa to increase access to books
and promote literacy, education and development.
The charity was
celebrating the success of its “Reverse Book
Club” which encourages people here in the
UK to buy vouchers or donate monthly for books to
be sent to schools and libraries in sub-Saharan
Africa.
The MP commented: “Over 500,000
carefully selected books go to some of the poorest
countries in the world. It is something that really
makes a difference.”
The Pendle MP is a member of the All-Party Parliamentary
Group on Libraries, Literacy and Information Management.
Friday 28 November 2008
MP relief at Colne Health Decision
Pendle MP, Gordon Prentice,
has expressed his relief at the news that the East
Lancashire NHS is bidding to buy the ‘Kwik Save’
site on Craddock Street, Colne, for the long awaited
new Colne Health Facility.
Speaking from Westminster,
Mr Prentice said: “The decision to site the
new facility next to Colne bus station and very
close to the town centre must be the right one.
This £10 million investment will be a significant
boost to improving the health of the people of Colne
and West Craven, and will be another major addition
to the town following the SureStart Children’s
Centre building opened last year. The new facility
will need planning permission and I hope there will
be no delays. I want Pendle Council to pull out
all the stops.”
“The residents of Colne and
West Craven will have a second opportunity to express
their views on the services to be provided from the
new health facility when the public consultation is
repeated in early 2009. It is essential that the development
is given top priority and the proposed launch date
of early 2011 is achieved.”
Tuesday 25 November 2008
MP slams Liberata
Liberata, the back office
functions company responsible for the administration
of Education Maintenance Allowances (EMAs), which
recruited 100 employees in Nelson in September and
sacked them in October was slammed today by Pendle
MP, Gordon Prentice.
In a
special adjournment debate called to highlight the
fiasco, the MP told Education Minister, Jim Knight,
that the company had failed to deliver on its contract
and should face penalties.
Prentice told MPs: "EMAs are
means-tested allowances of up to £30 per week
which are paid to 16 to 19 year olds who stay in
education. They are, in effect, an incentive to
help persuade young people whose families don’t
have a lot on money to stay in education. So, they
are laudable. But the company couldn’t process
the applications and huge backlogs built up."
Speaking afterwards, the MP said:
"There has to be an inquiry into what went
wrong. It is nothing short of scandalous that Liberata
can walk away from this disaster of its own making
without paying a penny in compensation."
Last week, the EMA contract from
the Learning and Skills Council was transferred from
Liberata back to Capita who had it from 2004 until
last year.
Thursday 20 November 2008
MP gets debate on EMA Fiasco
The Speaker has granted Pendle
MP, Gordon Prentice, a special adjournment debate
on the Administration of the Education Maintenance
Allowance on Tuesday 25 November 2008.
The Minister, Jim Knight, is expected to respond to
the debate.
Speaking from Westminster, the MP said: "Although
Liberata has now lost the contract from the Learning
ande Skills Council, there are lessons to learn."
"There are things that need to be said about
the whole deplorable episode."
The MP raised the issue yesterday with the Prime Minister
at PMQs.
Thursday 13 November 2008 Post
Office Card Account

Photograph
by courtesy of FreeFoto.com
Local MP, Gordon Prentice, today welcomed the news
that the Government is to keep the Post Office Card
Account (POCA) whose future, for the past two years,
has been uncertain.
In December 2006, Ministers announced there would
be a successor to the POCA and the contract was
put out to tender.
Today, the
Work and Pensions Minister, James Purnell, told
the Commons: "There is no doubt that the Post
Office Card Account is central to maintaining a
viable Post Office network. It not only generates
a key part of the Post Office's income but also
brings with it vital footfall to individual sub-postmasters."
Speaking from Westminster, the Pendle
MP said: "This is absolutely the right decision.
In Pendle 7,020 people have a Post Office Card Account
and they don't need to be told how valuable and
convenient it is."
"Given the huge financial turbulence
over recent months, I want to see the trusted Post
Office develop into a national bank."
The Post Office Card Account is a
very straightforward account specifically designed
to pay benefits administered by the Department for
Work and Pensions, the Northern Ireland Social Security
Agency, Service Personnel and Veterans Agency and
Inland Revenue tax credits.
Only benefits and pensions can be
paid in and they are collected across a post office
counter using a plastic card and PIN.
About four million people receive
their benefits and pensions this way, including
around two million pensioners.
The National Federation of Sub
Postmasters had claimed that 3,000 post offices might
close if post office did not receive the contract.
Monday 10 November 2008
Check up on your charity

Pendle MP, Gordon Prentice, is encouraging local people
to find out more about the charities they support
by using a new online register. The independent regulator
for charities, the Charity Commission, has launched
a new Register which helps people to access information
and thus increase the transparency and accountability
of the sector.
Speaking from
Westminster today, the MP said: "Eighty-five
percent of the population give to charity, yet it
has often been difficult to know how the money is
being used. The new register makes it far easier
for the public to see where their money has gone.
At a time when the Third Sector is playing a bigger
role than ever, and the Government is asking it
to do more, the Charity Commission should be congratulated
on this initiative."
"Pendle is home to many registered
charities which are making a real difference to
the community. Now it is possible virtually at the
click of a mouse to find out more about both local
and national charities. This can only be good for
public trust and confidence in the charitable sector."
Further Information:
The Charity Commission is the independent
regulator for charitable activity in England and Wales.
The Register of Charities provides the definitive
list of all charities in England and Wales registered
with the Charity Commission.
See www.charitycommission.gov.uk/
or for further information call their contact centre
on 0845 300 0218
Wednesday 5 November 2008
MP hails Obama Victory

Pendle MP, Gordon Prentice, has
welcomed Barack Obama’s election as the 44th
President of the United States. The MP says Obama
offers America a new and progressive future after
eight years of foreign policy blunders and missed
opportunities.
The
MP said: “The disastrous war in Iraq alienated
many of America’s friends around the world.
And her unwillingness to address climate change
issues caused despair.”
“This has been a watershed election.
It is no longer business as usual. With global recession
staring us in the face, the world is looking for
great things from Barack Obama.”
The MP added: “What happens
in the United States affects us all. The meltdown
in global financial markets can be traced straight
back to America’s sub prime mortgage crisis.”
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