The Government recently paid for free off-peak travel for pensioners and disabled people up and down the country, a measure that was intended to be liberating for the disabled and older generation.

However, our council in Burnley has gone against the spirit of this decision and decided at the same time to scrap the half-fare concessionary rate for pensioners and disabled people using buses in the mornings, which has angered many residents if my postbag is anything to go by.

So I'm launching a petition to get the council to reconsider this decision. You can sign it by contacting my office on the details below.

Meanwhile down in Westminster, the debate this week has all been about the Government's proposals to detain terrorist suspects in exceptional circumstances for up to two weeks more than the currently permitted 28 days. It's been a heated discussion and you will know the conclusions by the time you read this article as the final vote is on Wednesday night.

I'm supporting what the Government is proposing; in fact I supported the extension to 90 days when it was put forward (and ultimately defeated) nearly three years ago.

The reason is that, faced with a very real terrorist threat, we can't simply put our heads in the sand and hope for the best; we need to prepare for the worst. It is, of course, important to put in place safeguards to protect our civil liberties and this is what we have done.

First the nature of the threat: the Director General of the Security Service said recently the police and security agencies are currently dealing with some 30 known plots and over 200 groupings or networks, totalling around 2,000 individuals.

The serious nature of the plots means the authorities feel they cannot take the risk of allowing a suspected conspiracy to run its course before apprehending the suspects. This means they have to hold the suspected terrorists while the evidence is sifted and the case built. But because the plots are complex and international in nature, it takes time to go through all the evidence.

For example in the 2006 alleged airline bomb plot there were 400 computers, 8,000 discs and over 25,000 exhibits to be investigated. Add to that the need to translate multiple languages and dialects and work with other authorities abroad and it becomes only a matter of time before a terrorist is released before the case against them is built.
Already, six terrorists have been held by 27 or 28 days, the current limit.

But before we consider extending the limit we need to build in safeguards to make sure it is not abused. The Government has proposed a power to extend pre-charge detention up to 42 days should only be available following a joint report from a chief constable and the Director of Public Prosecutions. If invoked by the Home Secretary, the power is then only available for 30 days before automatically lapsing.
It has to be debated in both Houses of Parliament within seven days and if parliament says no it lapses immediately. The holding of suspects for more than 28 days would remain a decision for judges, although parliament would be informed. Each case would be reviewed every seven days by judges who would have to be convinced it was reasonable. And the whole system falls within the scope of the European Convention on Human Rights.

After debates of such a serious nature, I'm looking forward to coming back to the constituency on Friday for a number of school and employer visits as well as my usual surgeries.