Lord Coaker
Main Page: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Coaker's debates with the Northern Ireland Office
(12 years ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mike Penning
As you can imagine, Mr Speaker, I will not be drawn into comments on individual decisions taken by local authorities in Northern Ireland. However, it is not all bad news. There are in excess of 11,000 youngsters in apprenticeships in Northern Ireland on more than 100 apprenticeship schemes. That is good news for them and we should not denigrate the good work that they are doing.
Vernon Coaker (Gedling) (Lab)
First, will the Minister join me in condemning the violence in Belfast on Monday evening, which was wrong, unacceptable and without justification?
Does the Minister agree that young people will be the force behind further progress in Northern Ireland? What specific measures have he and the Northern Ireland Office asked the Chancellor to include in the autumn statement to tackle youth unemployment in Northern Ireland?
Mike Penning
The shadow Secretary of State is trying to draw me into territory that is way above my pay grade. Like the rest of the House and the country, I will wait to hear the autumn statement.
I join the shadow Secretary of State and shadow Minister in saying that what happened the other night was fundamentally wrong. Police and security officers were assaulted and battered while just doing their job. People may not have liked what was said and done in the council chamber, but it was done in a democratic way.
Vernon Coaker
From what the Minister has said, it appears that the Northern Ireland Office has asked the Chancellor to include absolutely nothing in the autumn statement to tackle youth unemployment in Northern Ireland. The Minister and the Secretary of State have to realise that the Government have a duty to young people in Northern Ireland that must be met. More than one in five young people in Northern Ireland are out of work. Westminster has a responsibility to act. There has been no action from the Government to date; are we to get nothing in the autumn statement later today? When will the Minister and the Government get a grip, not only on the economy in the rest of the UK, but on youth unemployment in Northern Ireland?
Mike Penning
The hon. Gentleman, who is a friend of mine, needs to get a grip on his comments and wait for the autumn statement. He will then find out whether we have done nothing or something. The autumn statement will clearly show what we have asked for and how much success we have had. Wait and see.