Ulster Unionist Rosemary Barton asks if the minister can help with resilience by encouraging recruitment to the volunteer organisations.

Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots says "it's amazing how many people are stepping up to the plate wanting to help others".

He says the best quality equipment should help encourage other people to get involved in volunteering.

Image source, NI Assembly

Alliance MLA John Blair asks what action will be taken "to ensure consistency in provision".

The minister says he's not sure who would be the lead department on this, "whether it's Justice or Communities or ourselves".

Image source, NI Assembly

Declan McAleer of Sinn Féin chairs the Agriculture Committee.

He asks the agriculture minister to outline which areas of NI will most benefit from the capital spending he has announced.

Edwin Poots responds by outlining the list of organisations which will be beneficiaries of the funding.

“This is going to be a significant boost to all of these organisations,” he adds.

Image source, NI Assembly

The SDLP MLA for Foyle, Mark Durkan asks Mr Poots how much cash each organisation will receive.

“In the case of Foyle it is over £150,000,” says the minister.

Image source, NI Assembly

Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots begins his statement by paying tribute to the work of the community search and rescue groups across NI.

"These are vital services," the DUP minister says.

Mr Poots says it's the department's expectation that rural tourism will continue to grow "potentially increasing the number of incidents and call-outs that these organisations have to deal with".

The minister says he has directed his officials to set up a support scheme to direct £1.9m in capital funding to these services.

He says the support will help to offset the decrease in voluntary contributions.

The minister says the capital funding will pay for items such as vehicles, PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) and other specialist equipment.

That concludes the justice minister’s statement on a report into care and support units in NI Prisons.

Up next, we’ve another statement.

This time from the Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots.

He’s in the chamber to outline the detail of a support scheme for NI Search and Rescue Services.

Image source, Reuters

Boris Johnson is focused on "saving his own skin" rather than key issues, after findings into No 10 lockdown parties were published, Sir Keir Starmer says.

The update delivered by Sue Gray blamed a "failure of leadership" for rule breaking in Downing Street.

Mr Johnson met Tory MPs on Monday to reassure them about his premiership and to promise a shake-up in No 10.

A number of MPs have said they are waiting for Ms Gray's full report to decide on the PM's leadership.

Read more on this story here.

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Doug Beattie of the UUP asks the justice minister how she believes staffing levels could be increased across the prison service.

“There is no realistic opportunity for us to significantly increase the overall number of prison staff available, particularly in light of the budget cuts which are coming down the tracks,” responds Naomi Long.

She says Covid-19 has resulted in pressure on staff.

Image source, NI Assembly

Alliance MLA Stewart Dickson asks for clarity on the type of activities and support available for those in care and support units (CSUs) within prison.

His party colleague, the minister, responds that “all prisoners held in CSU have access to phone calls, showers, yard time, virtual visits, ordinary visits subject to Covid-19 restrictions and learning activity”.

Some also have access to televisions and radios in their cells, she explains, but some do refuse.

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Sinéad Ennis of Sinn Féin asks the justice minister how many prisoners have spent over 15 days in solitary confinement in NI Prisons?

Naomi Long responds that “there was no evidence to suggest that any prisoner was submitted to such conditions for periods in excess of 15 days or close to 15 days”.

“These were intermittent lapses,” adds the Alliance minister.

“Every prisoner was offered time out of cell, every prisoner was offered access to showers, to telephones, had radio or television in their cell and was spoken to by prison offers as they delivered their meals on a daily basis, some refused that contact.”

Image source, NI Assembly

Sinéad Bradley says it “pains” her to read the report on Care and Supervision Units (CSUs) in NI Prisons.

The SDLP MLA refers to a case study, aged 20, “who had a total period of segregation in the CSUs and Covid isolation of 116 days”.

She says she believes this treatment to be “inhumane and torturous”.

Naomi Long responds that it is a concern when people are held in isolation for long periods of time.

She adds that there have been no major outbreaks of Covid-19 in prisons due to the decisions and approach taken.

Image source, NI Assembly

Mervyn Storey chairs the assembly's Justice Committee.

The DUP MLA welcomes "the significant transformation" that has taken place in prisons since 2011".

He asks the justice minister why the prison service didn't have the policies in place to address the problems.

Mr Storey calls for prison staff to be provided with "the support and the guidance that they are entitled to receive".

Justice Minister Naomi Long says there is a strategy for the care and supervision units (CSUs).

The comments in the report on Care and Supervision Units (CSUs) in the NI Prison Service “in relation to solitary confinement” were a “difficult read for me and the prison service” says Naomi Long.

The justice minister says “it’s regrettable and disturbing that some of the small number of prisoners in our CSUs experience such isolation”.

She says that those in CSUs represent around 1% of the prisoner population across NI’s three prisons.

“I do not believe such an in-depth review has been carried out anywhere across these islands” says the justice minister.

Naomi Long begins her statement by setting out her reasons for instigating the review of care and supervision units (CSUs) in the NI Prison Service.

The justice minister says the review “recognises the commitment” of staff working in these units and that improvements have been made.

“It tells us we are failing in a small number of key areas,” she adds.

“The director general and I, not only accept the recommendations in the review but, have already implemented some of them and are implementing others.”

Image source, NI Assembly

Ms Long says “our prisons have been assessed by inspectors as safe - that is because, in part, we have CSUs”.

The Alliance minister outlines considerations for prisoners with mental health difficulties.

“The creation of the equivalent of a Broadmoor facility for a population as small as NI is not sustainable and so this is not an issue that the prison service or department can resolve,” adds Ms Long.

She says no one in the CSUs is waiting for transfer to a mental health facility as of today.

Ms Long adds that she has asked the director general to ensure that, “rather than the six-month recommendation in this review, that health colleagues are able to undertake mental health and primary health care assessments of all prisoners immediately following their placement in our CSUs”.

She explains that the achievement of that goal will depend “on the availability of the appropriate health professionals”.

Some Northern Ireland prisoners are being held in what amounts to "solitary confinement" in breach of international standards, a report has found.

CCTV recordings over a five-day period showed 20 inmates at Maghaberry Prison near Lisburn did not leave their cells.

The report by Criminal Justice Inspection (CJI) raised "significant concerns about the treatment of prisoners".

The Prison Service said parts of the report make for difficult reading.

The report was commissioned by Justice Minister Naomi Long and looked at care and supervision units within Northern Ireland's three prison sites at Maghaberry, Hydebank Wood and Magilligan.

Read more on this story here.

Assembly Speaker Alex Maskey calls the members to order.

He turns directly to the first item on the agenda.

It's a statement from Justice Minister Naomi Long on Care and Supervision Units in the Northern Ireland Prison Service.

You may have noticed we're not able to bring you live video coverage of events at the NI Assembly this morning.

We're currently experiencing a technical issue but we're working hard to resolve it as soon as possible.

We'll still bring you live written reports, so stay with us!

Image source, PA Media

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

The Justice Minister Naomi Long will open events in the chamber by making a statement on a report into care and supervision units in Northern Ireland Prisons.

Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots will then deliver a statement on support for NI Search and Rescue Services before the Finance Minister Conor Murphy brings forward motions for debate on non-domestic rates.

At 14:00 Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon will answer MLAs’ questions, before members turn to their chunkiest item of business - a debate on the Climate Change (No.2) Bill, brought to the House by Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots.

It’s shaping up to be a lengthy day at Stormont, but we hope you’ll stay with us.

The live action starts at 10:30.