Economy Minister Gordon Lyons brought the Parental Bereavement Bill for consideration
The agriculture minister made a statement on a recent British-Irish Council meeting
Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon made a statement on a north-south meeting on Inland Waterways
Edwin Poots, the Agriculture Minister, brings forward the Animal Welfare Bill for debate at second stage
Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey appeared in the chamber for Question Time
Image source, ReutersThe debate on the Parental Bereavement Bill has run later than expected due to the large number of divisions.
We're going to leave the members to their adjournment debate on a Bypass Road for Moira.
We’ll be back at 10:00 tomorrow with more live coverage - this time of the Economy Committee.
Join us then and in the meantime have a great evening.
Amendment 4 is defeated by 49 votes to 27.
Amendments 5, 6, 8, 9 pass on oral votes.
The bill passes its consideration stage and is referred to the speaker.
Chris Andrews
BBC News NI
Image source, UK ParliamentFrom charity work to the halls of Westminster, Peter Kyle has started the next stage of his career as the shadow Northern Ireland secretary.
He replaces Louise Haigh as part of a reshuffle of senior roles in the Labour Party by leader Sir Keir Starmer.
Described by one respected Westminster watcher as a "very hotly-rated" figure in party, Mr Kyle had a varied background before his political career.
But he could be facing a steep learning curve on Northern Ireland matters.
Amendment 3 is passed by 52 votes to 27.
Deputy Speaker Patsy McGlone puts amendment 4 to an oral vote.
This is an amendment brought by the Economy Minister, Gordon Lyons.
Once again, there are cries of "Aye" and "No" but there's no clear winner and so the House divides.
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Image source, NI AssemblyAmendment 2 brought by the Economy Committee on Week One rights passes by 52 votes to 27.
Deputy Speaker Patsy McGlone calls for an oral vote on amendment three.
There's no clear winner so once again the House divides.
Image source, NI AssemblyThe chair of the Economy Committee, Caoimhe Archibald winds on the debate.
She says “in terms of this bill and other private members' bills in relation to employment law, we are making really good, progressive moves in terms of supporting workers”.
“The committee in considering this bill looked at it in good detail,” she says, adding that the amendments it proposed are “pragmatic”.
Deputy Speaker Patsy McGlone puts the second group of amendments to an oral vote, but given the debate which has just occurred it should not come as a surprise that the House cannot reach agreement and therefore divides.
Image source, NI AssemblyGordon Lyons, the Economy Minister, responds to the amendment and puts on record his “disappointment” at the lack of agreement.
“We are dealing with issues that are very raw and hurt people, not just for a period of time” but can still be “very acute after many years,” he says.
Mr Lyons outlines the legal and financial concerns he has about the amendment.
He refers to the “potential repercussive cost” and says “it’s important these issues are open to public consultation”.
"This amendment has a wider impact than this bill alone," says the minister.
Image source, NI AssemblySDLP MLA Matthew O’Toole says he and his party support the Day One amendment.
“Issues around parental bereavement, baby loss, and miscarriage are a very particular area which are particularly sensitive and devastating for people affected by it,” explains the South Belfast representative.
Stewart Dickson of Alliance says this “is an opportunity to bring forward new legislation, this is an opportunity to deliver for people a Week One right and I think that’s a right and proper thing for us to do”.
Image source, NI AssemblyPeter Weir, a DUP MLA, says this amendment is well intended and he adds that indications show the direct cost “is relatively small” but he has concerns about the “wider implications for employment law”.
“If the repercussion happens in terms of employment law across the board, then that is something which could lead into millions upon millions,” says the Strangford MLA.
He says “down the line this will lead to a considerable financial cost to the executive” if adopted.
Mr Weir says “we don’t have a clue what the level of cost will be”.
Image source, NI AssemblyIt’s now time for the second group of amendments to be debated.
There's one in this group which relates to Day One rights. It's been brought forward by the Economy Committee.
Caoimhe Archibald, the Economy Committee chair, says the amendment “seeks to remove the 26 week qualifying period for pay and introduce a Day One right for all employees and workers”.
This, she says, was something which the committee heard much evidence on from stakeholders and something which divided the committee.
The Sinn Féin MLA says “right to paid leave should not be subject to an arbitrary qualification period”.
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The votes have been cast and counted.
The clerk reads the result:
That means the amendment is carried.
If you want to know how your MLA voted, you can find out by clicking this link., external
It’s been a lengthy debate on the first group of amendments.
Principal Deputy Speaker Christopher Stalford put the first amendment to the House.
There’s no clear agreement, and so MLAs are called to record a formal vote.
This could take some time but bear with us.
Image source, NI AssemblyCaoimhe Archibald, the chair of the Economy Committee, winds on the amendments brought forward by the committee.
The Sinn Féin MLA says she has listened to the minister’s concerns but feels “we need to approach this from a very problem solving way”.
She adds that she believes “work can now be done on miscarriage leave and pay” and says while she takes onboard the minister’s comments around timeframe, “that’s something we could look at in terms of further consideration stage”.
Dr Achibald says “we have seen no precedents come forward” in terms of the minister’s concerns over “repercussive costs”.
This legislation has the potential to provide “progressive and meaningful provision” for workers and employees, says Dr Archibald.
Economy Minister Gordon Lyons is on his feet.
"We all share a desire that we provide the best level of support for working parents in NI who find themselves in the heart-breaking circumstances of losing a child," he says.
Mr Lyons says he acknowledges that the amendments moved by the committee chair "are undoubtedly well-intentioned, worded as they are they are likely to scupper this legislation".
He says they would most likely push back the introduction of support for parents to April 2024.
Image source, NI Assembly"The amendments also run the risk of disrupting the content of the bill so comprehensively that it may not be possible to implement it at all," the DUP minister adds.
He also warns of "possible ruinous repercussive costs".
Following a number of member interventions, Mr Lyons says: "We should not allow ourselves to fall into the trap of judging the success or failure of the mandate based on the volume of new law that we create."
He says the executive approved the bill based on a presumed cost of £100,000 "certainly not £104.5m in its first year alone" and £103m per year after that.
These figures are based on the parity principle and making this provision across the UK, Mr Lyons says.
He calls for members to reject the committee amendments but to support his amendment calling for a consultation into parental leave and miscarriage.
Jayne McCormack
BBC News NI political correspondent
Image source, NI AssemblyStormont's Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey has proposed a support scheme to help people in Northern Ireland who are struggling to cope with rising energy bills.
She told the assembly it would provide "one-off" payments to those in need.
The plan will require approval from the other executive parties.
Ms Hargey, a Sinn Féin MLA, said new legislation would also need to be passed before payments could be set up.
Consumers across Northern Ireland are facing higher prices this winter as gas and electricity providers pass on increasing costs to customers.
Image source, DFEMore than £100m has been spent by people in Northern Ireland using the High Street Spend Local cards, according to the latest figures.
The Department for the Economy said the scheme had given much-needed stimulus to the retail and hospitality sectors.
The deadline for using the cards was to be Tuesday, but that was extended until 14 December.
The £145m scheme was set up to help businesses affected by Covid-19 closures and lockdown restrictions.
Image source, NI AssemblyAlliance MLA Kellie Armstrong relays to members that she had 14 pregnancies, of which 13 ended in miscarriage.
The Strangford MLA says “my grief at 16 weeks, or 12 weeks or six weeks at pregnancy loss, is exactly the same as someone as 24 weeks plus three days, I’m not different, I’m not a report, I deserve legislation”.
She adds that the clause which includes “miscarriage from the very start, that’s what we need”.
“Language is key with baby loss, the language used in your amendment in Clause 4 is an amendment that will appear on the face of the bill, that language is horrendous, that language as a bereavement counsellor is not good enough, that language shows that this is all about money and not about people,” says Ms Armstrong.
Image source, NI Assembly“There is currently huge gaps in support for parents who suffer miscarriages,” says Órlaíthi Flynn of Sinn Féin.
The Health Committee member adds that shel believes “there is an opportunity for the Department for the Economy to fill some of those gaps” in this bill.
“It is estimated that as many as one in four pregnancies end in miscarriage,” says Ms Flynn.