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Ulster Unionist Leader Doug Beattie asks if the economy minister would be willing to set up a fuel poverty task force to address current issues.

Gordon Lyons responds that fuel prices have increased substantially in recent weeks.

“Fuel poverty is the direct responsibility of the Communities Department,” he says, but adds “in the medium to longer term I want to bring forward an energy strategy which addresses those issues”.

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Peter Weir, the minister’s DUP colleague, asks the minister about energy security and energy affordability.

Mr Lyons says “affordably is at the forefront of all of our minds right now”.

“All of our constituents are affected by this, not just individuals but businesses as well,” adds the minister.

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Economy Minister Gordon Lyons is in the chamber and ready to field questions from MLAs.

His first of the day comes from Gerry Carroll of People Before Profit.

The West Belfast MLA says “there is wide spread concern about petroleum licensing and the impact of the land”.

He asks the minister if he supports a ban on future petroleum licences.

Mr Lyons says there is an independent research report in the pipeline which must be approved and considered by the executive before any decisions can be made.

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Caoimhe Archibald of Sinn Féin asks the minister when the report will be published.

Mr Lyons responds that he hopes to have the report on the executive’s table before the end of this year.

Roy Beggs, the deputy speaker of the House, intervenes in the debate to advise MLAs that they must turn to 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 two slots during each Question Time session.

Thirty minutes is spent on Listed Questions , externalwith a further 15 allocated to Topical Questions.

Today it's the turn of the economy and education ministers.

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Ulster Unionist Rosemary Barton speaks next.

She says that while there are many people who "would argue that hunting with dogs is a necessity to keep predators like foxes under control others would contend that this method of control is very cruel and causes unnecessary suffering".

Ms Barton argues that there are "more humane, swifter methods of eradicating predators".

She says that several clauses of the bill need greater clarification.

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William Irwin of the DUP says this “amounts to bad legislation”.

He adds that many in his rural constituency want to see the ban on hunting with dogs bill “taken off the table”.

“Practically every dog owner in the country whose dog may at some point chase a wild animal could indeed be committing an offence if this poorly thought out and ill-advised law were actually to come into force.”

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“I am one of those people who engage in country sports, not hunting with the dogs,” says Patsy McGlone, but adds he is one of “54,000 people” with a firearms certificate.

The SDLP MLA raises a “major concern” which relates to the wording of the draft legislation.

“I have serious concerns about the unintended consequences under clause six,” he concludes.

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Declan McAleer of Sinn Féin chairs the Agriculture Committee.

He outlines members’ consideration and scrutiny of the bill to date.

The chairperson says the committee hasn’t yet agreed an overall stance on the bill, but will further scrutinise the draft legislation.

In his role as Sinn Féin MLA, Mr McAleer says his party “do not agree with a ban on hunting but there are elements of this bill that we do agree with”.

“Legislation as it currently stands, we feel is unworkable and would require significant additional time in the committee to rectify that and that’s time we currently don’t have,” says Mr McAleer.

He adds that he believes the issue will be readdressed in the next mandate.

John Blair opens the debate.

He says NI is "the only part of the UK without a ban on the hunting with dogs despite widespread public support for ban".

The Alliance MLA says this should include fox hunting and deer hunting.

He says it is his opinion, and of many members of the public, that hunting is "a cruel and unnecessary sport that causes immeasurable suffering to both the hunted animal and the hunting dogs".

Mr Blair adds that animals "being ripped to shreds by packs of dogs for the purposes of human enjoyment cannot be considered as a sport".

He says he carried out a consultation, which prompted 18,425 replies and that 78.61% of the respondents agreed with the aims of the bill.

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The South Antrim MLA says the draft bill would introduce "a full and comprehensive ban on hunting" avoiding the loopholes that exist in the legislation in other parts of the UK.

He says that the bill would also ban trail hunting, which he says is used as cover for illegal hunting.

The bill would also ban "terrier work", where a dog is induced to enter a hole in the ground in order to flush out an animal.

Mr Blair says he represents a mainly rural constituency.

"The bill is not intended in any way to restrict traditional country sports such as shooting, using gundogs or angling," he says.

The next item of business is billed to be today's longest.

It’s a second stage debate on a private member’s bill which has been brought forward by Alliance MLA John Blair.

The bill seeks to ban hunting wild animals with dogs in NI.

Currently, NI is the only part of the UK where the practice is still permitted.

You can read more about the bill here.

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Robin Swann is called to wind the debate.

He says there was a time delay in bringing forward the regulations due to the collapse of the assembly and diverted resources as a result of the pandemic.

The health minister responds to a number of queries from members, including the question over static caravans. He says these “sit outside these regulations”.

The regulations are put to an oral vote in the House and pass unopposed.

Health Committee chair Colm Gildernew outlines its members consideration of the bill.

They were advised that the driver would always be liable in the case of smoking in cars.

In his role as Sinn Féin spokesperson, Mr Gildernew says the party fully supports the regulations.

Health Committee deputy chair Pam Cameron says she supports all three of the draft regulations.

The DUP MLA says NI is the only part of the UK where it is still legal to expose people under 18 to the dangers of second-hand smoke in a vehicle.

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Speaking for the SDLP, Colin McGrath says the party believes the regulations are "timely", "appropriate" and "adequate".

The minister's party UUP colleague Alan Chambers says his family runs a retail outlet that sells tobacco products.

He says his party fully supports the regulations.

Paula Bradshaw of Alliance says the all-party group on cancer has been calling for these measures for years.

Up next, the health minister moves motions relating to nicotine and tobacco.

He opens the debate on all three draft regulations.

Robin Swann says these regulations are aimed at trying to reduce the exposure of second-hand tobacco smoke.

The health minister says children “are particularly vulnerable to the effects” of exposure to second-hand smoke “as they breathe more rapidly”.

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The first regulation relates to smoke-free private vehicles.

The minister explains that enforcement would be at the discretion of the enforcement agency and that the proposed amount of smoking in a private smoke-free vehicle and failing to prevent smoking in a smoke-free vehicle, would be £50.

If convicted of smoking in a smoke-free private vehicle a person could be fined £1,000, for failure to prevent smoking in smoke-free private vehicle a fine of up to £2,500 could be imposed, explains Mr Swann.

The second draft regulation seeks to set a minimum age of 18 on the purchase of nicotine inhaling products such as vapes, cigarettes or related products.

With members' statements completed the members move to a petition brought by Jim Allister on caravans.

He says it has been signed by 3,768 people with a number of grievances, including a lack of tenure on caravan parks.

Next on the agenda is the Further Consideration Stage of the Criminal Justice (Committal Reform) Bill.

It's brought to the assembly by Justice Minister Naomi Long.

There are no amendments to be discussed so the bill moves to the following stage without a debate.

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SDLP MLA Daniel McCrossan raises the death of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes.

The six-year-old was tortured and killed by his father and stepmother.

Emma Tustin was jailed for 29 years for murder and child cruelty and Thomas Hughes got 21 years for manslaughter.

“The details of this case, I have never seen anything quite like it,” says Mr McCrossan.

He calls for a review of current safeguarding mechanisms in NI, to “ensure no child ever suffers as this poor child did”.

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Christopher Stalford of the DUP talks about the Covid-19 passport scheme for NI.

He says he understood there was due to be a debate in the assembly either today or tomorrow on the scheme before it is fully implemented.

“I think it’s really important that we as members of this House are afforded the opportunity to see the evidence that such a scheme could provide in combating the virus,” adds the South Belfast MLA.

Carál Ní Chuilín says she has been contacted by a number of constituents who have concerns about the lack of information collected about secondary breast cancer.

Ms Ní Chuilín says that in England an audit has been set up to collect information about women suffering from secondary breast cancer.

The Sinn Féin MLA calls for an audit to be set up by the health minister.

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Pam Cameron raises the issue of weekly medicine dose trays that are sorted by pharmacies.

The DUP MLA says that due to increased workload a large number of pharmacy owners voted to no longer provide this service from September 2021.

She calls for a settlement to be found with the Department of Health.

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Speaker of the House, Alex Maskey, opens the plenary session to the public.

He brings members to order before informing them of a special sitting of the assembly on Friday.

Mr Maskey explains that it was the “first ever disabled persons parliament, not only on these islands but far beyond”.

He thanks those organising and participating in the event.

The speaker then turn to the first item of business.

It’s members’ statements, and Carál Ní Chuilín is first to be called.

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

It's a busy first day back for the MLAs with business kicking off with members' statements.

The health minister will bring forward a variety of draft regulations relating to smoking and the justice minister will bring the Criminal Justice Bill for debate.

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Question Time sees Gordon Lyons and Michelle McIlveen, the Economy and Education Ministers placed under the spotlight.

Before the end of the day, Alliance MLA John Blair will open the second stage debate on his Hunting of Wild Mammals Bill.

The action starts at 12:00 - stay with us until then.