An emergency question has been scheduled for today’s House of Keys sitting regarding strike action in schools.
Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK Jason Moorhouse will ask what the impact of strike action by teachers’ union NASUWT will be in schools and whether a timetable is in place for the Department of Education, Sport and Culture to meet all teaching unions.
This follows NASUWT’s announcement last week that it would be striking after its pay dispute with the government.
Vaping will also dominate the sitting.
Mr Moorhouse will ask Cabinet Office Minister Kate Lord-Brennan what progress has been made in bringing in legislation regarding the legal age for the purchase and use of e-cigarettes and vaping kits.
He wants to know when legislation will be brought forward to place an age restriction on the sale of e-cigarettes and vaping products.
What discussions Education Minister Julie Edge has had with the chief constable about the use of them in schools is also on the agenda.
Following the closure of homelessness charity Graih in September, which had been running its overnight shelter since 2008, Mr Moorhouse wishes to find out what support is currently available for homeless people after 5pm.
Meanwhile, the £2 cap on bus fares was introduced at the start of the month to help with the cost of living crisis.
Minister for Infrastructure Chris Thomas will be asked what the initial impact this has had on the number of people using the bus.
Mr Moorhouse also wants to know what action is being taken to improve the availability of credit cards.
He says credit card availability is ‘starting to impact’ residents and those who move here and they will ‘quickly find’ they can no longer access a card which they have potentially used for years.
The MHK added that American Express card holders have been told that the cards will no longer be available for residents and the six month extension to continue using the Tesco credit card ended last week.
Tim Glover, fellow Arbory MHK, will ask Health Minister Rob Callister whether issues with the UK Home Office have relayed the rollout of a medicinal cannabis services.
It comes after the Department of Health and Social Care said there were ‘technical issues’ between the department and the Home Office that hadn’t been resolved.