MEETING WITH GLENDA JACKSON

I led a delegation of local borough and county councillors to the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions the other week to present their Transport Package bids.

It was an interesting meeting in which the ideas and views of the councils were aired with the minister about transport and the infrastructure in and around Lancashire and Chorley.

A decision about Lancashire's allocation of money is expected shortly and I am hopeful that Chorley will be successful in securing extra money to improve the local transport system.

NATIONAL YOUTH PARLIAMENT DAY

Last week was National Youth Parliament day and two groups of young people travelled down from the constituency to participate.

The day was organised by the British Youth Council to show young people about how parliament works and to encourage them to get involved in politics.

As well as giving one group a tour around the Houses of Parliament, they were able to watch the debate in the Commons and a group of young carers asked me questions on a variety of social issues.

I hope they found it an enjoyable insight into how Parliament works.

ROYAL MARINES VISIT TO SCOTLAND

I have now almost completed my Royal Marines Parliamentary training Scheme and I have learnt a tremendous amount about the way the armed forces operate.

Last week I visited a base in Scotland and undertook a number of training exercises.

The year has involved a number of different visits to enable me to experience all scenarios presented to Royal Marines.

I have seen how dedicated they are to their work and they have been excellent hosts proving willing to take the time to show me different aspects of their work.

MEETING WITH NEW POLICEMAN

I met with the new Sergeant for Adlington, Mark Sweet, last week for an informal chat and to talk about various issues in the local area.

I am sure that he will continue to look after the area as well as his predecessor did, John Bellish, and I wish him every success in his future role.

CREDIT UNION IN CHORLEY

Chorley has been trying over the past year to set up a Credit Union, which is a community savings and borrowing scheme.

Chorley Borough Council has been instrumental in attracting potential interest. The good news is that now enough people have come forward and expressed an interest in the community banking scheme for it to be viable.

These people have now established a study group and are currently in the process of learning about how a credit union works.

With any luck sometime during next year the Credit Union will become fully operational and will be there for everyone in Chorley to take advantage of and benefit from.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.