Jim Allister of the TUV (below) is concerned about the new management and advisory boards and three-monthly plans.

"Has it not got the feel of a bureaucracy bonanza?" he asks.

The minister says he thinks his plan moves away from bureaucracy.

Image source, NI Assembly

Gerry Carroll of People Before Profit asks for assurances that any transformation will not mean "a whittling down or privatisation of our already-existing health services".

"I can give you that assurance," says Mr Swann.

Justin McNulty of the SDLP asks if Daisy Hill hospital will be included in the phase two of the plan to reopen services.

The minister replies that the trust “themselves are bringing forward those stage recommendations”.

Image source, NI Assembly

Rachel Woods of the Green Party asks the minister “how he, alongside the trusts, can ensure women have access to contraceptive services and early medical abortion services as a part of this rebuilding strategy when required”.

Mr Swann says that he believes abortion should be "debated in this house" and "not something imposed on us by Westminster".

He says it's "not a provision that has been commissioned by my department but I know it is being delivered by some trusts".

The SDLP's Mark Durkan say the pandemic has had "a devastating effect on community mental health services" particularly voluntary and charity organisations.

Mr Swann says with regard to charities, "the minister for communities has a support mechanism there and has funding" to support them.

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Roy Beggs of the UUP asks for examples of the innovative approaches adopted in the health service in recent months.

The minister says we have seen "the utilisation of digitalisation and online and telephone triage that has actually worked" but it should be borne in mind that face-to-face may often be the best approach.

Liz Kimmins of Sinn Féin says she welcomes the "road map ahead of us to see restoration of services" which the minister has released.

She wants more information on the reopening of emergency departments and an assurance that there will no longer be a "postcode lottery" in terms of health care.

Mr Swann says of the member's description of the pathway as a road map - "there will be bumps on this road".

He says there is work being done by "each of the six trusts in bringing forward their initial plans for June" which he says has been "highly strategic".

He says there are attempts being made to see "service provision" started again "as soon as possible".

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Andrew Muir of Alliance asks the minister what guidance and “consideration” to financial assistance will be given towards dentists and physiotherapists as lockdown eases.

The minister says there has been financial support to some dental services to "keep them operating" during the pandemic.

He says "recovery groups" have been established, which are comprised of various stakeholders, that are looking at how "non-urgent services can be resumed" as well as "developing operational guidance".

In relation to financial support, the minister says some will fall into the category of individual businesses, adding this is something the economy minister is looking at.

Image source, NI Assembly

Image source, NI Assembly

The DUP's Jonathan Buckley asks about the pressures on cancer services.

Does the minister agree that "we must show the same will and determination as we have against Covid in the fight against cancer in Northern Ireland?"

Mr Swannsays says cancer is "a scourge" and that in his document the first thing that's mentioned in annex A "is actually about cancer care".

It lays out new pathways to accessing services.

He says patients may have to travel longer distances for care in the coming months.

The SDLP’s Pat Catney says the strategy makes “quite stark reading” but says he welcomes the steps outlined by the minister to rebuild the services.

He wants to ensure that frontline staff are “fully engaged” in the work of the management group which has been established.

Mr Swann says “this is about the strategic direction” which he says will provide insight into “management and the direction of travel”.

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Mike Nesbitt of the UUP asks the minister about mental health services which he says were the "Cinderella service" before Covid, but that the pandemic has left them in a "much, much worse" situation.

He wants to know if the minister is confident he'll get funding for these services from the executive, and whether other executive members are aware of the seriousness of the issue.

Mr Swann says his executive colleagues are aware.

In relation to "future funding of the service, I have a number of bids in with the Department of Finance," he says.

The minister says Westminster may also potentially provide some more support..

He says the formal process to appoint a mental health champion, something he announced a number of weeks ago, is now under way.

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The DUP’s Alex Easton asks the minister if he has figures for how much “funding will be needed” for his plan?

Mr Swann says the Health Committee will be receiving a document with further clarification on the financial requirements in the coming week. He says he doesn’t have the detail with him at present.

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Sinn Féin’s Pat Sheehan asks the minister if he has “missed an opportunity here” in relation to the board that has been established. Mr Sheehan says the membership is made up of senior department of health managers but “no involvement from trade union representative groups or patient bodies”.

Mr Swann reassures the member there is consolation with the groups he has mentioned and says that trust executives who come to the board will bring feedback from staff to the meetings.

He then outlines the references to collaborative working which are referenced in the document published today.

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The minister’s UUP party colleague Alan Chambers asks if Mr Swann believes the finance minister will provide funding for the rebuild plans for the health and social care sector which the minister has in mind.

Mr Swann says "we have received financial support over last number of months in how we respond to Covid-19 as and when we need it".

He says the funding of the next steps, including the fulfilment of commitments made during the New Decade, New Approach Agreement, are "all executive commitments".

"So it's the commitment of the executive and not just the finance minister," he says.

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Alliance’s Paula Bradshaw turns to Covid-19 centres and says some GPs have contacted her to say they wish to get back to their own practices.

The minister says there will be a review of the centres and that they will be moving towards an on-call basis going forward.

He says they will be required in the instance that a second surge would appear.

Mr Swann says they have helped to "keep it out of our normal GP surgeries" and avoided "mixing Covid negative with Covid positive" patients.

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Pam Cameron, the deputy chair of the Health Committee and DUP MLA, says Covid-19 "launched" the health sector "into even deeper crisis than before".

She asks, "when will we see something that looks remotely like normal" in terms of health care.

Mr Swann replies that he doesn't "want to put a time on that".

"What we left as a service in January is not something we can get back to," he says.

"Out waiting lists were getting longer," he says, "our nurses were on strike".

The minister says it's "about using this opportunity" to support patients and "also support staff across the entirety of the health and social care system".

Image source, NI Assembly

The SDLP’s Colin McGrath wants to know if the minister believes the Covid-19 centres which he says some GPs "lament as a waste of time and money" should now be closed.

Mr Swann replies he is aware of a "small number of GPs" who refer to centres as the member has said, but he adds the "majority of GPs" he has spoken to have "seen the benefit" of the centres as they have taken "Covid positive patients out of normal practice".

He says the centres "have served the people of NI well".

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It's time for questions. Colm Gildernew of Sinn Féin chairs the Health Committee and is up first.

He says he welcomes the plan, which includes "innovation, transformation and collaboration", but wants to know more about the new "management board for rebuilding" services.

Will the minister chair the meetings and how often will it meet?

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Mr Swann replies that the management board will be chaired by the permanent secretary of his department, but adds he will be in in attendance as much as possible.

He says it's important it meets as frequently as necessary.

The minister says in terms of the collaborative response, there are more details in the document being published today, which outlines staff and stakeholder involvement, and new ways of working.

He says the steps being taken in June are a "quick reflex to make sure we can get as many services up and running again as soon as possible".

The minister turns to his "strategic approach".

This will involve the development of "service incremental plans in three-month cycles".

He says service providers, including trusts, will be required to develop successive three month service plans.

These will detail how they will increase capacity to resume normal service provisions as quickly as possible.

Image source, NI Assembly

The first three-month plans will cover July, August and September

Another aspect of the strategy will be "a review of existing patient pathways".

Mr Swann says that as the development of the three-month plans will take some time the trusts have prepared "initial service delivery plans for the month of June", and these will be published today.

He says he is establishing a management board to provide "clear direction" to the health and care services.

Mr Swann outlines how some of the approaches taken during the pandemic can be used in future with particular reference to technology.

He gives the example of the 11 Covid-19 centres that were set up as an example of good co-operation between primary and secondary care providers.

"We must now build on these experiences," Mr Swann says.

"Innovation, transformation and collaboration will be at the very heart of my approach to the rebuilding of health and social care services," he adds.

The minister says most adult screening services were stopped from the second week of March in order to redirect resources and prevent the spread of infection.

He says waiting lists were "unacceptable before Covid-19 and they are even more horrendous now".

Turning to the effects of the Covid-19 on adult social care care home residents and staff, the minister says it "continues to have a significant impact, which remains in the surge period of the pandemic".

He says he's also "very concerned" about the effects of the pandemic on mental health services with people not contacting those services for help.

The Principal Deputy Speaker Christopher Stalford then invites the health minister to make a statement about rebuilding health and social care services.

In his opening remarks, Robin Swann says the impact of Covid-19 means "things will not be the same again".

He pays tribute to the families who have lost loved ones to the virus and says that "behind every figure is a person who was loved and is now sorely missed".

The minister outlines that actions were taken to "control the virus" which meant "we had sufficient health service capacity".

Mr Swann says it's important to look towards "rebuilding health and social care services as soon as possible".

He acknowledges the "essential work of carers" and says the pandemic has "further highlighted their contribution to families".

The minister adds that Covid-19 has been the "biggest challenge" faced by the health service since its inception, adding that "huge strategic challenges" that existed before it, "have not gone away".

Mr Swann adds that in order to rebuild health and social care services, while also dealing with Covid-19, there is a need for "additional resource funding".

Image source, NI Assembly

He adds that there are concerns about the "detrimental impact" the pandemic has had on the delivery of a wide range of health services, such as cancer treatment.

The minister says for others who may have not come forward with health concerns during the pandemic, their conditions "will have gone undetected or untreated".

"We all want to see as many of the full services resumed as quickly as possible," says the minister.

Turning to mental health, the minister says the pandemic has had an impact and that a "mental health action plan is even more important" than before.

He then begins to outline "key aspects" of a strategy framework that his department is publishing today.

Principal Deputy Speaker Christopher Stalford barely gets the ball rolling with a motion on suspending standing orders before the TUV's Jim Allister (below) is on his feet with a point of order.

He's unhappy that there will be no debate on the motion which would, he says, prohibit the asking of topical questions and follow-up supplementary questions when ministers are present by anyone other than the tabler of the question.

"Why are me diminishing scrutiny in this house? Why are we shielding ministers?" he asks.

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Mr Stalford says he has considerable sympathy with the matters Mr Allister has raised.

He says that the assembly's Business Committee has agreed to allow question time to recommence from 16 June as lockdown eases.

Mr Stalford says the member should raise the issue with the business committee.

He then turns to the vote on the motion, which is passed with a single opposing voice from Mr Allister.

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Hello and welcome to Tuesday's live coverage of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Today members are assembly chamber for a plenary session.

There are only 22 members allowed in the chamber at one time due to social distancing regulations.

First up this morning is the health minister, who is due to brief MLAs shortly after 10:30 on his plans for rebuilding the health and social care sector.

Then in the afternoon, MLAs will debate Covid-19 support for beef and sheep farmers, before moving to a discussion about NI Prison staff and stress.

Do stay with us throughout the day.