Results 1-20 of 4,997 for in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates' speaker:Vernon Coaker

Oral Answers to Questions — Northern Ireland: Fuel Fraud (5 June 2013)

Vernon Coaker: I pay tribute to members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and their colleagues for the excellent co-operation that has taken place between police forces throughout the United Kingdom in relation to security arrangements for the G8 summit. Another issue that we need to tackle together is serious and organised crime—including, of course, fuel fraud—but, alarmingly, that...

Oral Answers to Questions — Northern Ireland: Fuel Fraud (5 June 2013)

Vernon Coaker: The point is that it is the Government’s responsibility to ensure that they reach an agreement on the NCA with the Northern Ireland Executive. Worryingly, the Serious Organised Crime Agency has been abolished, yet the Government have utterly failed to get agreement for the NCA to operate in Northern Ireland. What exactly are the Minister and Secretary of State doing to resolve this...

Northern Ireland (23 April 2013)

Vernon Coaker: I beg to move, That this House notes the significant and positive developments in Northern Ireland in recent years; acknowledges that challenges remain; and reaffirms its commitment to supporting peace, progress and prosperity in every community. It gives me great pleasure to move the motion on the Order Paper in my name and those of my right hon. and hon. Friends, and to open the debate on...

Northern Ireland (23 April 2013)

Vernon Coaker: I thank the hon. Gentleman for his remarks—I hope he feels like that at the end of my speech as well as at the beginning. In all seriousness, I am grateful for his remarks. The issues that affect Northern Ireland are taken seriously on both sides of the House. We need to debate them and to consider the challenges.

Northern Ireland (23 April 2013)

Vernon Coaker: I thank my hon. Friend for what he said at the beginning of his intervention. I will go on to say something about the economy and the need for jobs and growth in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, but he is right to make that point. The motion should enable Northern Ireland Members to speak with a great deal of flexibility on the many different issues that affect their constituents, as...

Northern Ireland (23 April 2013)

Vernon Coaker: I think that every right hon. and hon. Member would agree with the hon. Gentleman’s comments. There is a right to protest in a democracy, but it has to be done lawfully and peacefully. I do not think that any of us would wish to see anything take place that would detract from an important world summit, and an important example of how Northern Ireland can demonstrate to the whole world...

Northern Ireland (23 April 2013)

Vernon Coaker: I agree with the right hon. Gentleman. As the hon. Member for North Antrim (Ian Paisley) said, the fact that we are having a debate on the Floor of the House of the House of Commons in London is a statement of the importance that all of us here attach to what is going on in Northern Ireland. We do take notice and we do care. I hope that all of Northern Ireland will benefit from the G8...

Northern Ireland (23 April 2013)

Vernon Coaker: Our position is to try to help facilitate agreement between everyone about what solutions can be found, so that Britishness and Irishness is respected. It is difficult, in a particular circumstance, to say, “This is the solution that can or should be found.” Equality of respect between the different traditions in Northern Ireland is extremely important. Flags are a symbol of that,...

Northern Ireland (23 April 2013)

Vernon Coaker: I think it is a snapshot of opinion at a particular time. The agreement lays out procedures and processes for opinion to be tested at any time. The reality at the moment is that Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, and the debate in this Chamber reflects that. The priority for people at present is to resolve some of the ongoing challenges that remain, and to see what more can be...

Northern Ireland (23 April 2013)

Vernon Coaker: I understand the hon. Gentleman’s point. Of course, if the Executive and the parties in Northern Ireland have an alternative to the Parades Commission that they feel would better facilitate parading and deal with some of the issues, that would be a matter for discussion and change, but until such a time, the commission’s decisions are the law of the land, and as such they need to...

Northern Ireland (23 April 2013)

Vernon Coaker: We need a process for addressing all the matters that arise, but at the moment those points are made in a vacuum. We need an overarching process for debating these issues. My hon. Friend obviously knows Northern Ireland well. When I meet victims from all parts of Northern Ireland and from all sides of the community, I am struck by the need to find a better way of dealing with people’s...

Northern Ireland (23 April 2013)

Vernon Coaker: It might be something along the lines that Eames-Bradley suggested; what I am saying is that we have to bring people together to talk about this in the first place, but at the moment I think there is reluctance on the part of the Government to do that. I remember a debate in which the hon. Member for Belfast East (Naomi Long) said that the Northern Ireland Assembly had asked the then...

Oral Answers to Questions — Northern Ireland: Welfare Reforms (6 March 2013)

Vernon Coaker: I join the Secretary of State and the Minister in praising the bravery and success of the police in preventing a terrorist attack in Londonderry on Sunday night. As the right hon. Lady said, those who seek to destroy peace and progress will not succeed, but we have to remain vigilant to the threat they pose. On welfare reform, will the Minister tell my how many people in Northern Ireland will...

Oral Answers to Questions — Northern Ireland: Welfare Reforms (6 March 2013)

Vernon Coaker: The “not me, guv” attitude will not work. According to the Chartered Institute of Housing, 66% of working age social tenants in Northern Ireland will be affected, and 32,000 people will lose out as a result of the bedroom tax. The Government have given no consideration to the specific issues about housing in Northern Ireland—from the type and scale of stock to the...

Oral Answers to Questions — Northern Ireland: Public Disorder (23 January 2013)

Vernon Coaker: I join the Secretary of State, and hon. Members on both sides of the House, in standing against the recent violence. It is important that Westminster sends a clear message that it is unacceptable. Does she agree with me, and with what other hon. Members have said today, that we need more than just condemnation—we need action? Will she outline what steps she has taken and, more...

Oral Answers to Questions — Northern Ireland: Public Disorder (23 January 2013)

Vernon Coaker: I thank the Secretary of State for her reply. Of course, as she said, there is positive news, but will she now, with the Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish Government, review what has happened? Will they then set out together concrete proposals to deal with the underlying issues, specifically those relating to culture and identity, social and economic deprivation, and sectarianism? In...

Business of the House: Events in Northern Ireland (10 January 2013)

Vernon Coaker: I thank the Secretary of State for her statement and for advance sight of it. I join her in condemning the disgraceful violence that we have seen over the past weeks. The serious rioting, attacks on the police and threats against elected representatives, including the hon. Member for Belfast East (Naomi Long), have been appalling. As the Secretary of State has said, the hon. Lady has behaved...

Equal Marriage Consultation: Northern Ireland (11 December 2012)

Vernon Coaker: I thank the Secretary of State for coming to the House to make this statement and for advance sight of it. Let me say why I, and the Opposition, called on her to do so. There have been eight consecutive nights of violence in Northern Ireland. A Member of this House has had her life disgracefully threatened, and her Alliance party has seen its representatives intimidated and subjected to...

Oral Answers to Questions — Northern Ireland: Youth Unemployment (5 December 2012)

Vernon Coaker: 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...

Oral Answers to Questions — Northern Ireland: Youth Unemployment (5 December 2012)

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...