Sinn Féin's Caoimhe Archibald asks the first minister about the executive's new sub-committee on Brexit.

It'll be chaired by First Minister Arlene Foster and Dpeuty First Minister Michelle O'Neill and will have its first meeting tomorrow.

Ms Archibald wants to know how the committee, which is made up of executive ministers, will engage with stakeholders outside the assembly.

Image source, AFP

The first minister says the committee will discuss how to engage with experts and people who want to send information to it.

Sinead McLaughlin of the SDLP wants to know if there will be a formal structure through which the committee can receive advice from academics and business people in order to plot the way forward.

The first minister says she has no doubt those voices will be heard as it has been through the Brexit process.

New Decade, New Approach, external - the deal the brought Stormont back from the dead. Now Sinn Féin's Gerry Kelly wants to know how it'll be put into action.

"The minister will know, like us all, that agreements are one thing and implementation is an entirely different proposition," he tells First Minister Arlene Foster.

Mrs Foster agrees with his point and says there'll be regular meetings of the Stormont party leaders to review the implementation.

Image source, NI Assembly

And quarterly updates about the implementation of the agreement will be published, which she says is important for "openness and transparency".

TUV leader Jim Allister wonders whether Mrs Foster really thinks it's a "new approach" or whether Sinn Féin will use the deal as a "stepping stone" towards a united Ireland by the end of the decade.

The first minister says she and the Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill have different views on where they see Northern Ireland in 10 years' time but there's "common ground" between them on dealing with big issues like health, education and infrastructure.

Sinn Féin's Linda Dillon asks when compensation payments for victims of historical institutional abuse will be made.

Her questions follows the passing of legislation in November that would lead to the provision of compensation that was recommended in the Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) Inquiry report in 2017.

Image source, Pacemaker

First Minister Arlene Foster says the application process for redress will open at the end of next month and the first payments are expected to be made "shortly" after the end of April.

She reveals that the money "will have to be found" because the executive has committed to the payments being made.

And she says it's "incumbent" on the many institutions linked to the abuse to "step forward as well, not only in a moral way but indeed in terms of the financial redress".

New SDLP MLA Matthew O'Toole wants to know whether the civil service is "adequately resourced to deal with he extraordinary complexity" of the Brexit protocol for Northern Ireland in the next eight months.

He says the implementation of it will be "completely critical for businesses and households here".

Image source, NI Assembly

First Minister Arlene Foster starts by thanking the civil service for taking up the "burden" of representing Northern Ireland when Stormont was in cold storage.

In relation to the resourcing, Mrs Foster says she and Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill will keep a close eye on it.

They were in Cardiff last week for a meeting about Brexit with the government. Representatives from the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales were also there and Mrs Foster reveals there was "quite a robust discussion".

The UUP's Rosemary Barton has the honour of asking the first question to the first minister since the assembly reconvened.

She asks Arlene Foster what discussions her office as had with the Department for Exiting the European Union about the movement of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland after Brexit.

Image source, NI Assembly

Mrs Foster says she and Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill wrote to Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay, to inform him that the assembly had not assented to Westminster legislating on its behalf on aspects of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill.

She says they emphasised the importance of unfettered access for Northern Ireland businesses within the UK market.

Mrs Foster says there have been apparent contradictory statements from Whitehall and Brussels about the movement of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland so she and Mrs O'Neill have written to the prime minister asking for urgent clarification of the government's plans.

BBC News NI

Plans for an extension of welfare mitigations to the bedroom tax have been announced by Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey.

The scheme provides financial support to people who would otherwise have faced welfare cuts but it was due to run out on 31 March.

Image source, DfC

About 38,000 households in Northern Ireland are in receipt of supplementary payments, which protect them from the bedroom tax, the Department for Communities said.

Ms Hargey said the proposal would cost £23m a year.

Read more here: Minister unveils welfare scheme extension

DUP MLA Paula Bradley is one of several contributors to the debate who refer to their experiences on the assembly's all-party group on autism.

She recalls one trip made by the group to the Middletown Centre for Autism, County Armagh, during which she and party colleague Pam Cameron "had a bit of a road trip that day because I got us lost".

Mrs Bradley says says the centre does "wonderful work" but there needs to be investment in teachers to give them the training they need in relation to autism.

Image source, NI Assembly

It's not enough simply to raise awareness of autism, Sinn Féin's Cathal Boylan tells MLAs.

He says teachers must understand the condition and be "trained in the techniques and strategies needed to teach a child with autism and all its associated complexities".

Gerry Carroll of People Before Profit says the education system is not working for children with autism, meaning they're not getting the support they need.

"We have working-class families as well, Mr Speaker, who are forced to pay privately to get their children diagnosed with autism," the West Belfast MLA tells the assembly.

The debate is paused to allow three hours for questions to executive ministers. Education Minister Peter Weir will respond to the autism debate when it resumes at about 17:00.

Ulster Unionist MLA Robbie Butler points out Department of Health figures from last year that state one in 30 school-age children have autism.

That, he says, means that just about every class in Northern Ireland "will have one child who may require adjustment or support".

The Lagan Valley MLA says teachers seek to do the best for their pupils and while they face many pressures he believes autism awareness training "can only help alleviate the growing pressures."

Image source, Getty Images

There's praise from Paula Bradshaw of the Alliance Party for the opening of the new National Autism Society Centre in Carryduff on the outskirts of Belfast.

Supporting the motion and the amendment, she says her party is keen to see the Autism Act strengthened.

"We want people living with autism to have exactly the same chances as everyone," concludes the South Belfast MLA.

Karen Mullan of Sinn Féin says she's speaking in favour of the motion and the amendment one.

The Foyle MLA was due to propose amendment two, calling on teacher training colleges to introduce a compulsory module in autism training, but instead says it's important for MLAs to be "showing a united front here today".

Image source, Getty Images

SDLP MLA Colin McGrath says the potential of the 2011 Autism Act has been compromised by a lack of financial support but also by a lack of ministerial decision making over the past three years.

There is "a clear want and need" for mandatory autism training, adds the South Down representative.

Green Party MLA Rachel Woods offers and amendment to the DUP motion, calling for the education minister to go further than simply exploring the possibility of introducing mandatory autism training to school staff.

The wording of her amendment is:

Image source, NI Assembly

Ms Woods, a North Down representative, says children with autism "should not be disadvantages when it comes to their education".

She says the teaching unions support the introduction of mandatory training and the "time for exploring options is now over".

"What we need now is concrete action for teachers and their students", she adds.

On to the first major piece of today's business - a call for Education Minister Peter Weir to consider introducing mandatory autism training in schools.

The DUP's Pam Cameron proposes the motion below:

Image source, NI Assembly

The South Antrim MLA 30,000 families in Northern Ireland are affected by autism and there's been a failure in the delivery of autism services and that's been a "legacy of three years without this place".

An early diagnosis is important, she adds, but many families are waiting up to 18 months for a diagnosis.

"Teachers and classroom assistants feel overwhelmed and under-resourced to be able to work with children with autism as they have not had the opportunity to in the skills needed to do so," Ms Cameron adds.

BBC Two

Stormont Live isn't just a live page - it's also a new programme on BBC Two, with presenter Mark Carruthers taking a look at the big issues of the week in the assembly.

Today's show is on at 14:00 and will have live coverage of questions to the First Minister Arlene Foster.

Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey will also discuss her decision to bin the bedroom tax.

And there'll be anaylsis from Stephen Grimason and our political correspondent Gareth Gordon.

Jim Allister introduces the first stage of his private member's bill titled Functioning of Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill.

The TUV leader's aim with the bill is to change the rules about how Stormont special advisers operate.

His proposals include restricting their salaries, reducing the number of advisers in the Executive Office from eight to four and ensuring all meetings between ministers and their advisers are recorded.

The bill's first stage is the initial step on the lengthy process of the assembly's consideration of a proposed new law.

It takes a matter of seconds to read it into the record.

Next up is a short debate on the nomination to the post of acting Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman.

The wording of the motion is as below:

Image source, NI Assembly

The SDLP's Dolores Kelly (above), a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission, rises to outline more details.

The Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman provides an independent review function, taking complaints from the public about public bodies and investigating them.

The post became vacant when the previous ombudsman Marie Anderson was appointed Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland.

Paul McFadden - the deputy ombudsman for the past three-and-a-half years and previously a senior figure in the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman - has been identified as a suitable stand-in for the role.

His nomination is approved unanimously by MLAs.

The DUP's Jonathan Buckley says judging by some of the contributions from MLAs on the Brexit matter of the day he'd been forgiven for feeling he was at a wake.

Image source, Jonathan Buckley

Friday night was "bittersweet" for him, he says - sweet because he had campaigned passionately to leave the EU but bitter in the sense that the withdrawal agreement "compromises the integrity of the union which I cherish".

He says it'll take leadership from the executive and assembly to hold Prime Minister Boris Johnson to his commitment to "free, unfettered access within the United Kingdom".

TUV leader Jim Allister (below) says there's "something of the howling at the moon" in Sinn Féin MLA John O'Dowd's contribution.

Even thought Brexit has happened, Mr Allister isn't entirely happy - he says he was asked if he wanted the UK to leave or to remain and "the question was not: 'Did I want the UK to leave but leave Northern Ireland behind within the EU?'"

Image source, NI Assembly

Linda Dillon of Sinn Féin says her concern is about continued EU funding for projects in Northern Ireland, adding: "I know the difference it has made in my constituency."

She says the executive should be going to the government "not with a begging bowl but telling them what they owe us here".

Ulster Unionist leader Steve Aiken (below, centre) says Prime Minister Boris Johnson's vision for a trade deal "creates more than a grave uncertainty here in Northern Ireland".

The PM said this morning there was "no need" for the UK to follow Brussels' rules.

But Mr Aiken says it's good that the Stormont executive has set up a sub-committee to deal with Brexit.

He adds: "What I want to hear from now on is 'Northern Ireland-plus' - not 'Canada-minus' or 'Australia-plus'. We must be doing what's best for Northern Ireland."

Image source, NI Assembly

Alliance Party MLA Kellie Armstorng (above, right) says Brexit night was a quiet one in her house.

She says Northern Ireland has to "rebuild" but warns that Mr Johnson's vision could make that hard to do.

"We need the softest Brexit possible," insists the Strangford representative.

Green Party leader Clare Bailey (above, left) says she felt Friday was a "dark, dank day".

"We here in Northern Ireland are being held hostage to the fortune of a prime minister now who this house des not even trust," ads the South Belfast MLA.

Christopher Stalford of the DUP says he had previously said he wanted to see the UK leave the UK as one country and "therefore I don't wish to see internal borders inside sovereign UK territory".

He says that since the Brexit referendum the UK has been through an "extended culture war".

Image source, Getty Images

The SDLP's Matthew O'Toole says what happens in the year to come is "completely critical and fundamental to everyone in Northern Ireland".

He says there are no guarantees that there won't be a hard border on the island of Ireland but there may be disruption on the Irish Sea.

"It's worth all of us pausing and asking what the value of pledges from the current prime minister are," he adds.

John O'Dowd is on his feet, raising a matter of the day about Brexit, which happened on Friday night.

The Sinn Féin MLA says there's not been a "more significant political event in this island since the partition of this state almost 100 years ago".

While the UK has entered a transition period in which there will be no immediate practical changes to trade cross the Irish Sea, for example, Mr O'Dowd says people in Northern Ireland have "lesser rights" than they did last week.

The Upper Bann representative says the trade negotiations that will soon begin will prove even more difficult than the talks those lengthy talks that eventually led to the withdrawal agreement.

"While a roadmap has been set out it's quite clear that the timeframe that has been set in place will cause huge difficulties for people, businesses and the economy across this island and across all these islands."

Speaker Alex Maskey announces new guidelines about private members' bills - new laws proposed by individual MLAs rather than coming from the executive.

He wants to see members have an influence on "key issues affecting our community".

The number of proposals has increased dramatically beyond the capacity of the system set up to deal with them, he tells MLAs.

Image source, NI Assembly

For example, the number of proposals notified in the first week after the 2016 election was equal to the number submitted in the entire 2011-16 assembly mandate.

Mr Maskey says there'll be some key changes to the Bills Office, which supports the drawing-up of proposed new laws.

From now on there will be a dedicated team in the Bills Office for Executive bills and a separate teams for private members' bills.