"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."

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."

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.

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:

“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 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.

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.”

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."

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.

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."

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.”