By Lindsay Hoyle MP

IT was with great sadness that I learnt of the deaths of Ken Charnley, former Labour councillor for Brindle and Hoghton and Graham Cocking who represented Euxton South.

Ken was a well respected individual and I knew him well from his days on the council.

Originally elected to the council as a Conservative candidate, Ken changed his allegiance to the Labour Party in 1998 and since then became a committed member of the party. His knowledge and presence on the council will be sorely missed.

Ken was also chairman of the community health council and played an active part in working hard on all matters regarding health in Chorley and the North West.

Graham was a colleague I worked with on the local authority, too. He was a great administrator and his death is a sad loss.

At these times our thoughts and sympathies have to go out to both Ken and Graham's wives and families during this difficult period.

I MET with First North Western Trains to discuss a number of issues relating to the station raised by constituents, namely passenger safety, passenger information, lighting and extra trains.

The meeting took place on site in to highlight the extent of the problems.

Passenger safety has become an increasing issue at Adlington and a commitment was made to improve station security and safety on trains.

Also, a commitment was made to improve passenger information.

In relation to overcrowding on trains and the need for extra trains, this is an issue I have taken up with First North Western Trains in the past and continue to believe that people should not face overcrowding on services regularly and will push for extra rolling stock on existing services combined with more services calling at Adlington.

I WAS delighted to be invited to open the renovated church hall at St Bede's Clayton. The renovation will be a huge benefit to all the user groups and congratulations go to the volunteers who worked on the project and Asda who supported the renovation.

I hope that similar projects can take place across Chorley.

I EXPECT the new season of Parliament to be extremely busy. Business from last year's Queen's Speech is still to be passed through the House of Lords. The Queen's Speech will then set out the legislative programme for the forthcoming Parliamentary year.

Also, the November pre-budget statement will be important and I am looking forward to positive announcements on fuel and for pensioners.

MANY farmers continue to face difficulties and recent press reports outlined the fall in the average incomes of farmers over the last five years.

The crisis in farming has taken a huge effect and while the Government has put more money than ever before into the farming sector in order to help farmers cope, more can be done and I will continue to fight on behalf of local farmers and urge everyone to buy British produce at every opportunity.

I WAS pleased to see the Drug and Alcohol Awareness open day attract a significant number of visitors.

The open day was held in the new premises on St Thomas's Road which helped raise awareness of the group and the service they provide.

Helping individuals cope with problems related to drugs and alcohol is extremely important and the need for assistance in rehabilitation can not be underestimated. Praise must go to the staff who work at the centre and I wish them well for the future.