The Assembly replaced Standing Order 28 with a revised set of rules governing petitions of concern, the first substantive change to the mechanism in years, but rejected two companion Standing Orders that would have added a formal 14-day consideration period and new deadlines for petitions tabled at Consideration Stage. The first motion passed with cross-community support. Proposed Standing Order 28A was defeated by 45 votes to 30, with all 30 unionist members opposed. Proposed Standing Order 36A fell by 51 votes to 24, with six Ulster Unionist members joining nationalism and the cross-community benches in support. Standing Order 40A was not moved because it was consequential to 36A.

The Committee on Procedures spent almost two years on the work, following the 2022 amendments to section 42 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. Committee Chair Kellie Armstrong said the revised Standing Order brought the Assembly's rules into line with the law and that the additional provisions remained in statute regardless of the vote. Speaking as an Alliance member, she said her vote did not count in a cross-community division: "I find any veto to be an undemocratic abuse." Deputy Chair Órlaithí Flynn said the Committee had sought to balance the statutory duty with the safeguards set out in New Decade, New Approach.

DUP MLA Trevor Clarke said his party would support the revised Standing Order 28 but oppose the rest, warning that further change to the mechanism would not be considered in isolation. "We will be giving up nothing else until all issues are on the table for discussion, one of which is addressing the lawlessness of Ministers in office," he said. Ulster Unionist Andy Allen said his party backed 28A in principle but could not support it without detail on how an Ad Hoc Committee would be constituted, take evidence and report within 14 days.

The SDLP supported all four motions. Cara Hunter said the safeguard designed to protect minorities was being abused and pointed to 115 petitions tabled between 2011 and 2016, 86 of them signed by the DUP, compared with seven between 1998 and 2003. She also criticised the planned petition of concern against Sinn Féin's Irish-medium Education (Workforce Plan) Bill, telling the Assembly that every child has a right to be educated as their parents wish.

The petition of concern was a recurring theme of the morning's members' statements. Declan Kearney accused the DUP of having "totally sabotaged" the Employment Rights Bill and of being "anti-workers' rights and anti-trade union". Pat Sheehan said his Irish-medium education Bill, which would require workforce planning for teachers and classroom assistants in Irish-medium schools, was facing a veto, describing it as "a disgraceful abuse" of a minority safeguard. The DUP did not respond to those statements in the Chamber.

Ciara Ferguson presented a public petition against the proposed closure of St Columba's Primary School in Newbuildings, which gathered more than 6,160 signatures. She called for the Education Authority to explore every reasonable alternative before an irreversible decision, citing housing growth in the village, the school's shared education partnership and its Eco-School status. The petition will be forwarded to the Education Minister and the Education Committee.

Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Minister Andrew Muir used a statement on COP31 to accuse the DUP of holding up climate policy, saying the draft green growth strategy had sat with the Executive since December 2024 and that the first climate action plan had been with colleagues since August. "Government is about partnership and cooperation, but it is also about engagement; I am not seeing that from the DUP," he said. He argued that the recent A5 judgement had shown climate obligations and major infrastructure are not incompatible, and put the cost of Storm Éowyn response at more than £17 million.

The statement drew sustained criticism from DUP and TUV members over mandatory carbon footprinting and its treatment of family farms. William Irwin and Diane Dodds raised farmers' concerns about cost and viability, while Timothy Gaston accused the Minister of pursuing ideology over food security. Muir replied that the policy was "not ideology; it is science" and later accused the DUP of "economic illiteracy", naming Sammy Wilson as a climate change denier. The Minister confirmed that a paper on coastal erosion would come to the Executive within weeks and that the carbon footprinting project would not be used for herd reduction.

Finance Minister John O'Dowd faced questions on public-sector pay and the absence of an Executive Budget. He said any pay award would be backdated to 1 April and that he was exploring every avenue to deliver it, while continuing to press the Secretary of State for a fair funding settlement. He told the Assembly the autumn Budget provided only £131.2 million in additional day-to-day funding this year while cutting capital departmental expenditure by £117 million over four years, and that the funding gap with Scotland and Wales appeared to be widening rather than closing. Responding to Matthew O'Toole, he said he had a plan to deliver pay rises "and you do not", and confirmed his intention to make a statement on withdrawing parental responsibility from convicted killers, sometimes called Jade's law, the following day.

On other matters, O'Dowd said Land and Property Services had reduced unpaid rates carried into the current year by almost £50 million to £131 million, with £27.3 million written off in 2025-26, three quarters of it for legal reasons. He confirmed that reform of shared property management would not be completed before the end of the mandate, that procurement rules for spend below £50,000 have been simplified, and that the A5 western transport corridor remains an Executive flagship project following the Court of Appeal judgement.

Private Members' Business saw a debate on arthritis and musculoskeletal care, opened by Philip McGuigan, who said approximately 550,000 people in the North live with an MSK condition and that 43 per cent of them are economically inactive. He described constituents waiting four years for a double knee replacement only to be told surgery was now expected in February 2027, and called for the recommendations in Arthritis UK's report 'From Breaking Point to Recovery' to be implemented. Kate Nicholl said the current routine rheumatology waiting time is 10.8 years, and Diane Dodds focused on the difficulties young people face moving from children's to adult services. The debate was suspended for Question Time.

Earlier, the Assembly suspended Standing Order 20(1) with cross-community support to allow business to run until 2.45pm. The Pension Schemes Bill passed its First Stage, and the Petroleum Exploration and Licensing (Repeal) Bill and the School Uniforms (Trousers) Bill both passed Consideration Stage without amendment.