:00:00. > :00:12.The BBC has learned that auditors have suspended payments to over half
:00:13. > :00:15.the boiler owners they have inspected so far.
:00:16. > :00:18.Ofgem said of the 63 they'd looked at, subsidy payments had
:00:19. > :00:27.It's also emerged that the Department for the Economy
:00:28. > :00:29.is declining to disclose information about participants of the scheme
:00:30. > :00:33.despite previously saying it would be "freely available".
:00:34. > :00:34.Our Agriculture and Environment Correspondent
:00:35. > :00:40.From the start, extensive information on each RHI
:00:41. > :00:46.installation was meant to be available for anyone.
:00:47. > :00:54.It included the location, the time it was installed and how
:00:55. > :00:56.It included the location, the type installed and how
:00:57. > :00:59.Crucially, the information would also include the date
:01:00. > :01:02.the business joined the scheme and how much subsidy had been paid.
:01:03. > :01:04.All of this, they said, would be available to the general
:01:05. > :01:08.We asked the Department for all that information a month ago
:01:09. > :01:12.and despite repeated requests, it has still not provided it nor has
:01:13. > :01:19.Boiler owners were told when they signed up to the scheme
:01:20. > :01:20.that they consented to the publication
:01:21. > :01:26.There's a huge amount of interest out there.
:01:27. > :01:31.Some boiler owners have said naming would start a witchhunt.
:01:32. > :01:34.If the information was to be published, it would lead
:01:35. > :01:39.to the identification of those who got into the scheme giving
:01:40. > :01:45.the spike in November 2015 before the subsidy changed.
:01:46. > :01:47.It was that spike that effectively burst the budget.
:01:48. > :01:51.Hundreds of those RHI recipients have now objected in writing to any
:01:52. > :01:59.It may create a problem for the authorities.
:02:00. > :02:02.Under the data protection act they might have to review
:02:03. > :02:04.any decision to follow through on the economy minister's
:02:05. > :02:10.intention to put their names out there and right back within 21 days
:02:11. > :02:13.intention to put their names out there and write back within 21 days
:02:14. > :02:16.to see if they are going ahead with it.
:02:17. > :02:22.It pushes a list of names further down the pipe.
:02:23. > :02:22.But new figures from inspectors may create an unstoppable
:02:23. > :02:26.Ofgem said today out of 63 boilers they had inspected they had
:02:27. > :02:35.suspended payments to 33 of them pending investigations.
:02:36. > :02:39.Fifa have since been reinstated. They said none of them had been
:02:40. > :02:41.permanently excluded. Reasons given by boiler owners
:02:42. > :02:46.for non-publication are fears of adverse publicity,
:02:47. > :02:48.loss of business and health grounds. Officials will have to decide
:02:49. > :02:51.if that trumps the public interest. A plan to cut the costs associated
:02:52. > :02:54.with the Renewable Heat scheme The Economy Minister Simon Hamilton
:02:55. > :02:58.has tabled legislation which would cut subsidies paid
:02:59. > :03:03.to around 1,800 people who got into the scheme
:03:04. > :03:05.before November 2015. Here's our Political
:03:06. > :03:18.Editor Mark Devenport. This is Simon Hamilton's plan to cut
:03:19. > :03:21.the potential losses of the controversial renewable heating
:03:22. > :03:26.scheme. The idea is to lower the tariffs so that 1800 users who are
:03:27. > :03:31.getting higher payments instead get lower payments in the future. This
:03:32. > :03:34.is the scheme that the finance minister Mairtin O'Muilleoir said he
:03:35. > :03:38.would look at and scrutinise in a nonpolitical way, but he hasn't yet
:03:39. > :03:43.passed it. As we understand it, the DUP has gone directly to the
:03:44. > :03:46.Assembly's business committee. The Sinn Fein representatives on the
:03:47. > :03:50.committee didn't object to it being added to Monday's business, the
:03:51. > :03:53.reason being that apparently there weren't any Sinn Fein
:03:54. > :03:57.representatives there, a sign that they are no longer participating in
:03:58. > :04:01.Assembly committees. Apart from the heating regulations, the Bedroom Tax
:04:02. > :04:05.will also be under discussion by MLAs on Monday and there is a plan
:04:06. > :04:11.to mitigate that and it has also been added to the order paper. The
:04:12. > :04:16.Speaker at Stormont in ??DELETE has written to MLA's to explain why he
:04:17. > :04:21.allowed Arlen Foster to address the Assembly on the RHI last month. The
:04:22. > :04:24.opposition staged a walk-out when she made a statement without the
:04:25. > :04:27.approval of Martin McGuinness. Mr Newton faces a motion of no
:04:28. > :04:31.confidence when the Assembly returns. In the later this evening,
:04:32. > :04:34.he denies allegations of party political motivation and says he
:04:35. > :04:36.takes the impartiality of his role extremely seriously.
:04:37. > :04:38.The Health minister Michelle O'Neill had planned to make public
:04:39. > :04:41.a strategy to tackle waiting lists this month but without an Executive,
:04:42. > :04:44.it was thought the budget could not be approved.
:04:45. > :04:49.Earlier this evening, she told BBC Newsline
:04:50. > :04:52.she still intends to publish the plan and has had talks
:04:53. > :04:55.with the Finance Minister to push ahead with it.
:04:56. > :04:57.Because of the current crisis of confidence in the institutions
:04:58. > :05:01.I said we're going to be in a difficult position
:05:02. > :05:04.to overarching budgets for all other Government departments.
:05:05. > :05:13.I'm still waiting to publish the plan.
:05:14. > :05:19.As far as health is concerned, you're good to go with this plan
:05:20. > :05:33.and you believe you have the money and agreement from
:05:34. > :05:34.I absolutely can assure the public that I am doing absolutely
:05:35. > :05:34.everything I can and I will publish an elective care plan but
:05:35. > :05:38.I'm not waiting to publish the plan to take action.
:05:39. > :05:40.A plan to charge families for school transport which is currently free
:05:41. > :05:43.is part of a package of money-saving measures being considered
:05:44. > :05:46.The authority needs to make substantial cuts to its budget.
:05:47. > :05:50.Our Education Correspondent Robbie Meredith has this exclusive story.
:05:51. > :05:53.Around 90,000 pupils - like these at Devenish College
:05:54. > :05:54.in Enniskillen - get free bus passes to get
:05:55. > :05:59.If they live more than three miles away from their post-primary school
:06:00. > :06:02.or two miles from their primary school, the Education Authority
:06:03. > :06:10.But meeting that bill costs the EA ?72 million a year.
:06:11. > :06:14.And they've got to find around ?100 million in savings by next year.
:06:15. > :06:18.The BBC understands that a yearly fee for school transport
:06:19. > :06:22.of between ?50 and ?200 per pupil is one of the measures
:06:23. > :06:27.A similar scheme operates in the Republic of Ireland.
:06:28. > :06:30.There, families pay 100 euro for each primary child and 350 Euro
:06:31. > :06:36.for each post-primary child, with a maximum yearly
:06:37. > :06:42.Two thirds of Devenish College's 480 pupils currently
:06:43. > :06:49.There will be clear evidence that many families are already struggling
:06:50. > :06:56.so to add an additional burden on to those families,
:06:57. > :06:59.especially if the charge was applied at the start of September,
:07:00. > :07:04.I think parents would struggle to pay that additional fee.
:07:05. > :07:07.Meanwhile, at St Patrick's High in Keady, 400 pupils
:07:08. > :07:09.get free school transport, including the head
:07:10. > :07:15.I live about seven miles away and I made use of the bus
:07:16. > :07:19.for the past few years and I know that at my parents had to pay for me
:07:20. > :07:23.for the past few years and I know that if my parents had to pay for me
:07:24. > :07:26.to get the bus to school, it would seriously impact the family.
:07:27. > :07:32.Us living in rural areas, it isn't easy to get
:07:33. > :07:34.in and out of school, because this is
:07:35. > :07:47.Don't know whether the education system can bear any more cuts. If we
:07:48. > :07:50.can afford to spend ?490 million to fund financial incompetence in the
:07:51. > :07:55.Government, people can find money somewhere else to stop this cutting
:07:56. > :07:59.of education. There is still some distance to go before the charges
:08:00. > :08:02.are introduced. The EA will have to consult and still pick up the bulk
:08:03. > :08:04.of a pupil's yearly bus fare but this is another sign of just
:08:05. > :08:08.squeezed the education budget is. It's lovely to look at,
:08:09. > :08:10.but the snow caused some travel problems overnight
:08:11. > :08:12.and throughout today. There were difficult driving
:08:13. > :08:13.conditions, some disruption to train and bus networks,
:08:14. > :08:27.and a number of school closures. It's a very chilly night and we are
:08:28. > :08:31.expecting some icy conditions, there is a weather warning for eyes
:08:32. > :08:34.through to lunchtime tomorrow and black ice could prove hazardous in
:08:35. > :08:37.some spots but there is good news. As we make our way through tonight,
:08:38. > :08:42.some slightly milder air will start coming from the and by the morning,
:08:43. > :08:46.many hovering just above freezing but still cold with some frosty
:08:47. > :08:49.conditions out there and as we mentioned, some ice. Tomorrow,
:08:50. > :08:53.temperatures will continue to rise but there will be a scattering of
:08:54. > :08:56.showers, beginning to move in from the north and west tomorrow morning
:08:57. > :09:01.affecting largely northern and western areas, but a few could sink
:09:02. > :09:04.further south and east. If you are travelling tomorrow, it will be a
:09:05. > :09:07.very cold start across England and northerns -- Scotland and northern
:09:08. > :09:11.England but sunshine as well, many areas of northern England enjoying
:09:12. > :09:15.fine sunshine. Scattered showers the Wales and south-west England as the
:09:16. > :09:18.weather front pushes eastwards. Across Ireland, the milder air will
:09:19. > :09:21.move in, allowing temperatures declined to seven or 8 degrees but
:09:22. > :09:26.there will be some scattered showers. It is not always going to
:09:27. > :09:29.be raining, there will be sunny gaps. And for us by the middle of
:09:30. > :09:34.the day, top temperatures of seven or eight, so well up on what we have
:09:35. > :09:39.today. Into tomorrow, we see rain beginning to move in for a while. It
:09:40. > :09:42.is going to be a mild night tomorrow, seven or 8 degrees, sets
:09:43. > :09:45.us up for a milder they come Sunday, temperatures should reach double
:09:46. > :09:49.figures for us all but it will be cloudy, there will be some rain as
:09:50. > :09:50.well but we hold onto those double-digit figures right through
:09:51. > :09:58.until Tuesday at least. We are back at 5:30pm tomorrow. From
:09:59. > :10:01.everyone here, have a good night.