MLAs had been set to debate a motion on the cost-of-living crisis today if Stormont had been restored.
But the latest bid to re-establish the devolved institutions failed after the DUP continued to block the election of a Speaker in protest over Brexit's Northern Ireland Protocol.
Without cross-community support to elect a new Speaker, it meant no further business could be discussed. The recalled sitting of the Assembly, proposed by the SDLP, was the third attempt to restore power-sharing since elections in May.
Read more: Northern Ireland secretary Shailesh Vara 'determined to avoid fresh Stormont elections'
Stormont has been in limbo since February when the DUP withdrew its First Minister from the Executive as it called for the UK government to act on the protocol.
The SDLP motion called for MLAs to recognise the "immense hardship facing people and families across Northern Ireland" and for ministers to "work collectively" on support measures.
The motion read:
"That this Assembly recognises the immense hardship facing people and families across Northern Ireland caused by rising energy, fuel and food bills; expresses concern at the latest information from the Office for National Statistics which places inflation at 9.4% and suggests that real-terms pay has retreated by 2.8% over the last 12 months; rejects the stated approach of all Conservative Party leadership candidates to oppose inflation-matching pay increases for public sector workers who guided us through the Covid-19 pandemic; declares a cost-of-living emergency requiring immediate intervention from ministers; and calls on ministers to work collectively to introduce direct support schemes to assist every household in Northern Ireland affected by the cost of living crisis."
Speaking during the Assembly recall, Sinn Fein vice-president Michelle O’Neill described the DUP blocking the restoration of power-sharing as "reckless" and "unforgivable".
“The DUP are the only party, the only party that are blocking and preventing the executive being formed, preventing the executive meeting that would allow us to distribute money to help workers and families,” she said.
Earlier, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said he cannot set out a timetable for his party to return to Stormont power-sharing.
He said they needed to see how the incoming Prime Minister succeeding Boris Johnson will respond to unionist concerns over the protocol.
Sir Jeffrey dismissed the recall of the Assembly as a “stunt”.
SDLP MLA Matthew O’Toole said it was "outrageously cruel" for the Assembly not to be functioning at a time when families are struggling with rising prices.
The South Belfast MLA said the recall session served as a challenge to the DUP to "get back to work".
Newly elected Alliance MLA Patrick Brown, making his first address in the Assembly, called for reform to "put an end to ransom politics".
He said it was no longer tenable for one party to be able to block the formation of an Assembly and Executive.
The DUP has linked its return to Stormont with contentious legislation passing through Parliament which aims to override the protocol, the Irish Sea trade deal agreed with the European Union.
But the Conservative Party leadership contest between Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former Chancellor Rishi Sunak has led to uncertainty over how the next Prime Minister will proceed with the Bill.
Sir Jeffrey said: “We need to know where that new Prime Minister is going with the Protocol Bill. We need to know is that Prime Minister going to reopen negotiations with the European Union, and what might that mean."
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