Ofgem E-Serve administered the RHI scheme for DETI, which is now the Department for the Economy.

Before it began working on the Northern Ireland scheme, it had been the administrator for a separate, similar scheme in Great Britain.

Chris Poulton, Ofgem's acting managing director, says it "raised concerns" throughout the administration of the scheme about forecasts that were being made about how much money people could collect from it.

Mr Poulton acknowledges that there was a lack of communication between Ofgem and the department when he took up his role in January 2014.

Ulster Unionist Robin Swann gets the Public Account Committee hearing under way.

Image source, b

Ofgem E-Serve representatives are appearing before MLAs to explain their role in the RHI scheme.

The Renewable Heat Incentive scheme was introduced in 2012 by the former Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI), with the aim of increasing the uptake of renewable heat technologies.

But in July this year, the Northern Ireland Audit Office stated in a report, external that "serious systematic failings" in the scheme are likely to cost the Northern Ireland budget "hundreds of millions of pounds".

Economy Minister Simon Hamilton described the finding as "deeply shocking".

Image source, Tchara

The Audit Office investigation was prompted when a whistleblower contacted the Northern Ireland Executive in January alleging that the scheme was being abused.

One of the claims was that a farmer was aiming to collect about £1m over 20 years from the scheme for heating an empty shed.

In a PAC inquiry session last month, a senior civil servant apologised for the department's lack of oversight in the scheme and said that by the end of it, it will have cost the public purse a grand total of £1.18bn. 

This afternoon we have live coverage of this week's meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

The inquiry into the Renewable Heat incentive (RHI) scheme resumes as members quiz officials from OFGEM and the Department of Finance.

Committee chair Barry McElduff adjourns the meeting.

Join us at 14:00 for live coverage of the Public Accounts Committee and its inquiry into the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme.

Mr Clarke says education bodies are not adopting this strategy just to be "difficult".

"We are doing it to benefit these local communities in accessing on an equitable basis the full rage of educational choices," he says.

He also sees a role for shared education, which he says must not be "just an afternoon every month or something".

"It has to be a much more integrated involvement of schools with each other, with their communities," he says.

Concerns about the future of small schools are raised by Ulster Unionist Rosemary Barton, who says the plan has "taken the whole zumph out of country areas and their schools"

"They really feel decimated by this document," she adds.

She asks if there is a suggestion "that small schools cannot provide a quality education".

"Absolutely not," says Jacqui Durkin.

She says it is about the issues posed by "two or more age groups in a class together", access to extra-curricular activity, and the pressures it puts on teachers.

Chris Lyttle of the Alliance Party asks how many available places there are in Northern Ireland's schools.

Jacqui Durkin says there are 46,370 available places in primary schools and 20,186 places in post-primary schools.

Image source, PA

Sinn Féin's Catherine Seeley, a former teacher, says the report has given her "huge confidence".

She says her experience of schools is that "class sizes are large and actually we would benefit from reducing class sizes, and using those surplus places to make smaller class sizes".

Ulster Unionist Sandra Overend (below) is concerned that the plan is "being driven by a cost-saving exercise".

Jacqui Durkin says that costs "can't be ignored", but she emphasises that "the motivation and the aim and the objective is about providing a quality education".

Julian O'Neill
BBC News NI Business Correspondent

Northern Ireland border towns are enjoying a surge in business, with visitors from the Republic of Ireland cashing in on the pound's low rate.

One shopping centre in Newry in County Down has seen a 62% jump in customers from across the border.

The boom has been fuelled by sterling's decrease in value after the UK's Brexit vote in June.

Barry McElduff says he wants to "cut to the chase", and asks how many schools "are you planning to close or amalgamate".

Image source, PA

Ms Durkin replies: "I don't think there is a definite number but what we do know that there are too many schools, and too many small schools."

Jim Clarke of CCMS says they are "fully supportive" of the area planning process.

Referring to the possible reaction in school localities, Mr Clarke says "we are mindful that change is challenging".

Jacqui Durkin of the Department of Education (DE) explains the thinking behind the area planning strategy.

She says one of the criticisms made of the previous plan was that it listed schools but simply said the authorities would keep them under review.

This caused "a great deal of uncertainty and anguish," she says.  

John Collings of the EA says the draft plan is "Northern Ireland's first whole-region, single-regional plan, which includes primary, post-primary and special education in one place".

Mark Devenport
BBC News NI Political Editor

There is set to be an increasing number of school mergers and closures across Northern Ireland, according to recently-published Education Authority plans.

The draft area plan for 2017 to 2020 sets out a strategy for changes to the number and nature of schools.

Image source, PA

Education Minister Peter Weir said a significant number were failing to deliver the best for their pupils.

However, no specific proposals for the future of individual schools will be made until early 2017.

The draft plan provides a framework for deciding which schools are unsustainable.

Officials from the Education Authority (EA), Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) and the Department of Education arrive for their session on area planning.

"This is big stuff," says committee chair Barry McElduff.

Family doctors in Northern Ireland have frozen their threat to resign from health trusts and go private in protest against a lack of support and investment.

Image source, Thinkstock

It comes after yesterday's announcement by Health Minister Michelle O'Neill that there would be significant investment in doctors' surgeries.    

Alliance Party MLA Chris Lyttle (below) asks whether there will be a public consultation on the 2017-18 budget.

Mr Connolly says his understanding is that, like the 2016-17 budget, there will not be "because of the timing".

"We will only receive the chancellor's decisions on the 23 November, so clearly we are under a lot of pressure as the executive are to get that information, make decisions across all nine departments," he adds.

Mr Lyttle asks if it would be better practice to have a consultation.

The finance director says: "Would there be any point having a consultation process prior to [the chancellor's autumn statement]? Because that will be the clear determinate of how much money the executive has.

The UK's Brexit negotiating stance cannot just be "a series of demands that appeal to people in Peterborough", a former Irish prime minister has warned.

John Bruton made the comments at the House of Lords EU Select Committee.