That concludes Question Time with the Health Minister Robin Swann.

Before moving to the next item of business, Speaker Alex Maskey makes MLAs aware that the first and deputy first minister’s will make a statement about “the executive’s pathway out of Covid-19 restrictions” this afternoon.

He says it will come “after the supporting motion on students and prior to the adjournment debate”.

Here’s a summary of what you need to know from Question Time with the health minister:

• Robin Swann says the Commissioner for Older People, Eddie Lynch, “understands the support we’ve been giving to care homes and also to those families who want to make visits”

• The minister is “determined to rebuild” the health service “as quickly as possible” following the Covid-19 pandemic

• On the issue of abortion services in NI, Mr Swann says: “This matter is cross cutting, controversial and must be one that is decided by the full executive and it would not be for me alone to move.”

• In December 2020, the minister wrote to “holders” of mother-and-baby-home records and the Health and Social Care Board to request the preservation of records
• Between 17 March 2020 and 5 March 2021, a total of 16,938 procedures, operations and diagnostic tests were been postponed due to health service pressures caused by Covid-19

Image source, NI Assembly

Linda Dillon of Sinn Féin asks the minister "what steps he is taking to ensure the protection of records from mother-and-baby homes".

The minister says that in December he wrote to all the institutions involved and to the Health and Social Care Board to ensure that all reasonable steps were taken to preserve the records in their possession".

He also requested that "any routine or procedure for deleting or destroying any such records" should be suspended for the duration of any further investigations.

Ms Dillon says "we need to move a step further" because the minister is relying on the institutions to do the right thing.

Image source, NI Assembly

The DUP's Maurice Bradley asks Mr Swann to "outline his plans to reshape the health service post pandemic".

The minister outlines some of the "firm foundations already laid," including plans for 900 additional nursing and midwifery training places by 2022.

"As we emerge from the latest Covid-19 surge I'm determined to rebuild as quickly as possible," he says.

"A key priority for rebuild is the need to return critical care to its usual position to facilitate an increase in elective care," he adds.

Image source, NI Assembly

Maolíosa McHugh of Sinn Féin asks the minister "whether his department has given any consideration to locating a physical and sensory disability day centre in West Tyrone".

Mr Swann says there are no current plans to provide a centre located specifically in the West Tyrone area "and neither my officials nor their Western Trust colleagues are aware of any specific demand from the local community or individuals".

Mr McHugh disputes that there is no demand saying he has had "parents in tears talking about that type of provision".

Image source, NI Assembly

Patsy McGlone of the SDLP has today's first question slot.

He asks Robin Swann "for his assessment of the uptake of the care partners scheme in care homes".

The minister says that unfortunately there are still some families that have been unable to set up care partner arrangements.

He adds that the most recent figures a show that "almost 80% of care homes are facilitating indoor visiting" and just over half of homes report that they have care partnership arrangements in place.

The minister says the PHA (Public Health Agency) and the Health and social care board are working with care homes "who are finding implementation more challenging".

Image source, Getty Images

We're back from lunch and rejoining the assembly for Question Time.

It takes place during plenary sessions every Monday and Tuesday between 14:00-15:30 and is an opportunity for members to question ministers about the work of their departments.

There are usually two slots during each Question Time session but today Health Minister Robin Swann is the only minister to face the heat.

Thirty minutes will be spent on Listed Questions, with a further 15 allocated to Topical Questions.

Principal Deputy Speaker Christopher Stalford intervenes in proceedings. He says it's likely there will be division on the motion and so will return to this item of business after Question Time.

He then suspends plenary sitting to enable the Business Committee to meet and plan next week’s assembly schedule.

MLAs will be back in the chamber at 14:00.

We hope you’ll join us then.

Image source, NI Assembly

Gerry Carroll of People Before Profit is back on his feet to wind on his amendment.

“Stormont’s role in enabling and increasing poverty has to be addressed and is the elephant in the room, seemingly, for the minister and her party,” says the West Belfast MLA.

Image source, NI Assembly

Paula Bradley of the DUP is then called to wind on the motion.

She talks about a few issues she “wants to clear up”.

“I am also one of the only members in this very chamber here today that sat on the Welfare Reform Committee,” says Ms Bradley, adding she looked at the changes “in total despair”.

“What I want to see is the minister to continue to lobby her colleague, the finance minister, to get the additional money from the Department of Finance for the advice sector,” adds Ms Bradley.

Minister for Communities Deirdre Hargey replies to the debate.

She says she wants to reassure people that "the existing mitigations money will continue to flow beyond the end of this month as they did last year. There will be no cliff edge and no stopping of those payments".

Ms Hargey refers to the review of mitigations envisaged in New Decade, New Approach.

She says no one could have envisaged at the time that we would be faced with "the biggest global health pandemic that we have seen in our lifetime".

Image source, NI Assembly

The minister outlines some of the packages set in place by her department during the pandemic and the "unprecedented demand" for Universal Credit.

She says she will "soon bring forward legislation to strengthen the mitigation schemes for people affected by the bedroom tax and also by the benefit cap".

"We can't run like a democracy in other countries that you look to because we have one and sometimes often two arms tied behind our back where Westminster are making these decisions and those parties in power in Westminster are not representative, and indeed not elected by the people here in the north," Ms Hargey says.

Image source, NI Assembly

“Covid-19 has plunged so many into hardship here,” says Rachel Woods.

The Green Party MLA says the question for the executive is “whether they will dig deep” to “safeguard” the most vulnerable from austerity.

Image source, PA Media

The Northern Ireland Executive has agreed primary school pupils in years P4 to P7 will return to class next Monday, BBC News NI understands.

It has also approved a proposal to allow all other pupils in post-primary schools to return by 12 April after Easter.

However, this is expected to be reviewed again at the end of March, in line with public health advice.

Ministers are meeting to formally assess the coronavirus restrictions.

They were initially imposed on 26 December, in a bid to curb a rise in cases of Covid-19 across Northern Ireland.

Read more on this story here.

Image source, NI Assembly

“When I came to be a politician I looked forward to helping people but I didn’t realise how many people would come through my doors looking for advice support,” says Kellie Armstrong.

The Alliance MLA says that while she has “difficulty with the amendment” she will be supporting it as she believes “when the minister and department comes forward with mitigation and welfare updates” that there will to be money made available for advice services.

Image source, NI Assembly

Ulster Unionist Andy Allen says “on the face of it”, it made sense to “streamline the universal credit system” but the MLA says it’s not played out in reality.

“We know what mitigations may be working, we know what aren’t,” adds the East Belfast MLA.

“I, too, am frustrated, and I understand why the members have brought this forward,” says Mr Allen.

Karen Mullan of Sinn Féin says that at the beginning of the Covid pandemic the Communities Minister, her party colleague Deirdre Hargey, was quick to act "to protect the most vulnerable both practically and financially".

She says that welfare mitigations are welcome but cannot eradicate poverty.

"If we are serious about tackling poverty we must identify the root causes of poverty," Ms Mullan says, adding that she welcomes the minister's work on developing "a long-term anti-poverty strategy".

Image source, NI Assembly

Mark Durkan of the SDLP says he welcomes the fact that the mitigations package "has shielded so many from the worst impact of welfare reform, but we can't pretend that there has been none".

He refers to the "disastrous roll-out of universal credit" and the impact of the bedroom tax "that we were promised would never grace our doorsteps".

Image source, NI Assembly

Gerry Carroll is up next. He’s called by the principal deputy speaker to move his proposed amendment to the DUP motion.

You can read the full wording of the People Before Profit MLA’s amendment here., external

Mr Carroll says “the introduction of Tory welfare reform led to a direct increase in poverty across all of our communities”.

“This is utterly, utterly shameful and this all happened, Mr Speaker, before the pandemic,” he adds.

The West Belfast MLA says advice centres “are already completely overwhelmed, advice workers are exhausted”.

Image source, NI Assembly

Alex Easton opens the debate.

The DUP MLA for North Down says he wants to talk about the number of new benefit claimants, the continuation of welfare mitigation measures for the next financial year and the review of the mitigations called for in the New Decade, New Approach agreement.

He says he is concerned about "the staffing numbers involved in processing claims".

Mr Easton says he has seen estimates of "around 60,000 new claimants expected".

"This is result of a Sinn Féin finance minister failing to provide the funding for more staff," he says.

Mr Easton adds that he finds the expected cuts to Advice NI "troubling".

Image source, NI Assembly

There’s a quick change at the top table, with Principal Deputy Speaker Christopher Stalford taking charge of proceedings.

He moves MLAs to the next item of business - a DUP motion on Welfare Support.

You can read the full text of the motion here., external

Alex Easton of the DUP is called to move the motion and start the debate.

Robin Swann is invited to wind the debate.

While looking through his notes, the health minister quips: “I was expecting more contributions as you can tell Mr Speaker!”

“The bill will not impact trust procurement or tendering process,” says Mr Swann in response to points raised by the Health Committee chair, Colm Gildernew.

Image source, NI Assembly

The minister thanks those who have been part of the board and says the department will be held accountable once the board is dissolved.

“This is the first step for significant change across the health service in Northern Ireland,” says Mr Swann.

“Whilst the bill will remove the construct that is local commissioning groups” the minister says it “does not detract, in any way, from local input or intelligence in our planning services”.

The Health and Social Care Bill passes its second stage on oral vote.

Image source, NI Assembly

Paula Bradshaw of Alliance says she will support the bill today although she does have some concerns:

"I am unclear about precisely how the implementation of this legislation will provide a genuinely streamlined, more efficient and more transparent system."

She says she drew a comparison in the Health Committee to the removal of the Education Authority "as that sort of middle layer around the commissioning and operation and delivery of education services".

Image source, NI Assembly

Cara Hunter of the SDLP joins the plenary meeting by video link.

She welcomes the bill, but raises a number of points that she hopes the minister will address.

“Working within communities is how we’ll deliver better services that meet the needs of local people in each of our constituencies,” says Ms Hunter, and asks the minister to confirm that local expertise will be continue to be heard.

Image source, NI Assembly

Alan Chambers, the minister’s UUP colleague, says the bill is technical in nature.

He welcomes the bill and the “certainty it will bring to staff, given that it has been on the books since 2015”.