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Latest updates: Angela Rayner questions Oliver Dowden over public accounts committee report that says £21bn of taxpayers' money has been lost.
Rayner says a public accounts committee report this week says £21bn of taxpayers' money has been lost.
Dowden says the government is trying to recover that money. Labour plans a £28bn spending spree that would add £1,000 to everyone's mortages, he says. He says Britain cannot afford Labour.
Kiss star Gene Simmons said he witnessed "controlled chaos" during his "insane" visit to the Commons today to watch PMQs, PA Media reports. PA says:
The hard rocker, in the UK for the band's End Of The Road tour, was a guest of DUP MP Ian Paisley and received a private tour before making his first trip into the Commons chamber. Simmons, speaking in central lobby, told the PA news agency: "What I just saw in there was controlled chaos. It was the clash of wills but respectful - the right honourable so and so, it was fascinating. In America, it's like the middle finger is a salute. I think Americans can take a big lesson in civility in how to make democracy actually work and still respect the other side."
The hard rocker, in the UK for the band's End Of The Road tour, was a guest of DUP MP Ian Paisley and received a private tour before making his first trip into the Commons chamber.
Simmons, speaking in central lobby, told the PA news agency: "What I just saw in there was controlled chaos. It was the clash of wills but respectful - the right honourable so and so, it was fascinating. In America, it's like the middle finger is a salute. I think Americans can take a big lesson in civility in how to make democracy actually work and still respect the other side."
According to Kate Ferguson from the Sun on Sunday, many Conservative MPs no longer see the point of coming to PMQs.
They are probably not alone. Even at the best of times, PMQs is rarely a source of enlightenment, and today's exchanges came close to being one of those events with a negative information function; you end up knowing less at the end of it than you did before, not more.
That is because neither Oliver Dowden nor Angela Rayner were particularly effective at their messaging. For Dowden, it was only his second time at PMQs, and (again) he only really succeeded in not showing Rishi Sunak up. Rayner has delivered some terrific PMQs performances in the past, but she didn't today.
Rayner started with the Covid inquiry, and a very short question highlighting the hypocrisy of the Tories taking the Covid inquiry to judicial review when their 2019 manifesto included a pledge to stop JR being abused. It was a good opener, but she did not have a powerful follow-up on the Covid inquiry - Nick Robinson (see 9.39am) and Kay Burley (see 9.54am) did a better job at exposing the weakness of the government's legal position this morning - and from there she embarked on a scattergun approach, where it was not always clear what her main attack line was. For example, when she asked about value for money and the Covid inquiry, it was not clear whether she was asking about the government taking legal action, or the £1m legal fees for Boris Johnson.
The £1m figure seems to have come from this Daily Mirror story. It seems to have been little more than a guess. But Rayner's reliance on tabloid cuttings for her pre-PMQs briefing is nothing compared with Dowden's. His entire script seemed to have been inspired by what he read in the Sun or the Daily Mail, and most of it was unconvincing (which was why today's PMQs was an information black hole).
He complained about the Welsh Labour government not launching its own Covid inquiry, even though the UK one will specifically cover what the Welsh government did. He complained about Rayner claiming AirPods on expenses, even though the claim was approved, and Rayner paid the money anyway when this became a news story. He complained about Labour taking money from a Just Stop Oil backer, when his party's own record on dodgy donations is probably far worse.
When Rayner asked about the government dropping plans for a register of children missing from school, he claimed it hadn't. When a Tory MP asked exactly the same question later, he gave a more considered reply, which showed that Rayner was indeed onto something.
Dowden's most audacious attack line came towards the end, when he claimed that Labour's proposed climate investment pledge - a £28bn annual commitment on climate projects - would put up the cost of mortgages by almost £1,000 a year. This is based on a "Treasury analysis" that mysteriously seems to have surfaced only in the Daily Mail.
Rayner had one more question to go. She could have tried to contest this claim but instead she ignored it - which perhaps serves as further proof that Labour is getting increasingly nervous about this pledge, and that it might get watered down or ditched. This enabled Dowden to recover some ground, but overall it was not an encounter where either of them emerged with great credit.
Fleur Anderson (Lab) asks if the government will introduce a proper windfall tax on energy companies.
Dowden says the government introduced a higher windfall tax than Labour was proposing. And he says the OECD today has given the highest growth update to the UK.
And that's it. PMQs is over.
Sir Bob Neill (Con) asks for an assurance that the election in Spain will not hold up the negotiation of a treaty concerning Gibraltar.
Dowden says the government remains committed to that.
Simon Baynes (Con) asks Dowden to congratulate a choir in his constituency.
Dowden says choral music is one of our greatest contributions to global culture. He congratulates the choir on making the semi-final of Britain's Got Talent.
Gareth Bacon (Con) asks if Dowden agrees it would be disgraceful for a political party to accept public money from a company that received huge sums from the fulough scheme.
Dowden criticises Labour for taking sums from someone who supports Just Stop Oil.
Mohammad Yasin (Lab) asks about a planning dispute in his constituency.
Dowden says Labour claims to favour more development. But as soon as developments are proposed in Labour constituencies, MPs oppose them.
Ashley Dalton (Lab) asks when the government will take responsibility for the attainment gap falling over Covid and not recovering.
Dowden says, before the pandemic, the attainment gap had narrowed. If Labour cares about education, it should urge the unions to call of their strikes, he says.
Hilary Benn (Lab) asks about Huntingdon's disease. Will the government support better access to mental health services for people with the disease?
Dowden says he completely agrees with Benn about the impact of this disease. Investment in mental health has increased, he says.
Damien Moore (Con) asks about a girl in her constituency who took her life. He asks if Dowden agrees Southport council should put better protection measures in place.
Dowden says new guidance addressing this will be published soon.
Nia Griffith (Lab) asks if the home secretary will meet her to discuss concerns about a hotel being used in her constituency for asylum seekers.
Dowden says the government will do what it can to stop small boats. Arrivals are down by 20%, he says.
Flick Drummond (Con) asks Dowden if the government will support having a register of children not in school.
Dowden says local authorities should identify children in their area who are not safe. The Department for Education wants this to happen more swiftly.
Mhairi Black, deputy leader of the SNP at Westminster, says interest rates are one of the highest in the G20. Isn't it the case that this government is trashing the economy, only slightly more slowly than Liz Truss did?
Dowden says the OECD has revised its growth forecast for the UK upwards. He says Black described the coronation as a pantomime. But the real pantomime is the SNP, he says.
Gavin Newlands (SNP) asks if Dowden thinks he is worth the £13,000 he was paid at one point for 20 hours work.
Dowden says he is not sure what the question refers to, but he says the government is helping people with the cost of living.
Dame Andrea Leadsom (Con) says she hopes the rollout of digital medical records will help babies get the best start in life.
Dowden says the so-called digital red book will be rolled out in the next two years.
Catherine West (Lab) says the government has repeatedly failed to reform social care. Will it repair the system, or leave it to Labour?
Dowden says the government has put more money into social care.
Kevin Foster (Con) asks about levelling up and Torbay.
Dowden says the levelling up partneships are helping places in the most need. Foster will make the case for Torbay, he says.
Ronnie Cowan (SNP) says working culture will have to be overhauled as a result of AI. Will the government engage with the universal basic income pilots?
Dowden says the government has never been convinced of the case of UBI. Creating more jobs is a better approach, he says.
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, describes meeting a carer yesterday. She cares for her husband, but feels her work is not valued. Carers like Karen save the government more than the NHS budget. Will the government recognise this, and give them the help they deserve?
Dowden says he would like to pay tribute to Karen and other carers. He acknowledges Davey speaks from his own experience as a carer. He quotes the government sums spend on caring.
Black says the government is spending £6bn detaining asylum seekers, and has wasted £21bn. Is the view from the PM's helicopter so skewed he thinks this is value for money?
Dowden says he will take no lectures from the SNP on getting value for money.
Rob Butler (Con) asks about a new rail link to Aylesbury.
Dowden says the Department for Transport is looking at the case for this.
Rayner says this country cannot afford more of this government. The government cannot ensure money is spent properly. The PAC said more money could be wasted because ministers are in denial.
Dowden says more resources are being spent on tackling fraud and error. The government wants to drive down energy bills. But Labour is getting money from Just Stop Oil protesters. And its policies would force the UK to import more oil and gas. For once, he agrees with the GMB union, he says. They said the policy was naive, and could decimate communities.
Rayner says Dowden's punchlines are dire. Thousands of people have not returned to school. Why did the government abandon its plans for a register of missing children?
Dowden says that is not the case. This is still under review, he says. He says the government has put extra money into schools, and reading standards are the highest in the western world.
Rayner says Labour just supports the handing over of what the Covid inquiry has asked for. Boris Johnson is asking for another £1m for his lawyers. Is this a good use of taxpayers' money?
Dowden says there is no relationship between Rayner and Keir Starmer. He says Labour backed extending the lockdown while he, as culture secretary, was trying to keep arts institutions in business.
Rayner says Dowden prides himself on his knowledge of working people. Will they thank him for spending taxpayers' money on this legal case?
Dowden says the government wants to ensure that material that is unambiguously irrelevant is not included. That could include details of people's medical records. On costs, he says Rayner has claimed expenses for two pairs of headphones.
David Johnston (Con) says Labour is committed to abolishing Sats, academy schools and Ofsted. He invites Dowden to say this would not be in the interests of children.
Dowden says he is delighted at the recent figures showing children in England are the best readers in the western world. Only the Conservatives can be trusted with our children's future, he says.
Angela Rayner says the last Tory manifesto said they would abolish judicial review. How is that going?
Dowden says the Tories support the Covid inquiry. But in Wales there is no independent inquiry. There is one rule for Labour, another for everyone else.
Oliver Dowden says he is replying on behalf of Rishi Sunak, who is in Washington at the invitation of President Biden. They will be discussing a range of issues including AI, trade and Ukraine, he says.
Keir Starmer is on course to clinch a landslide majority of 140 for Labour at the next UK general election, the first modelling based on a megapoll of new constituency boundaries suggests. Aubrey Allegretti has the story.
Related: Labour on course for landslide election victory, megapoll shows
And here is an extract.
The general election poses a headache to pollsters and campaign strategists, as constituency boundaries are being redrawn for the first time in several election cycles. In the first MRP based on the new boundaries, conducted by FocalData and presented by the Best For Britain campaign group, Labour's potential success was said to be under varying degrees of risk. If the Reform party - the reincarnation of the Brexit party - repeats the tactic used in 2019, of standing aside in Tory marginals, Labour's seats would still be at a healthy 401, leaving the Conservatives on 202. Another scenario has Labour winning 370 seats to the Tories' 232, based on redistributing undecided voters by their education profile. If both were combined, under what was billed as Labour's "worst-case scenario", the model predicts a hung parliament - with the party about a dozen seats short of a majority, with 316, leaving the Tories at 286.
The general election poses a headache to pollsters and campaign strategists, as constituency boundaries are being redrawn for the first time in several election cycles.
In the first MRP based on the new boundaries, conducted by FocalData and presented by the Best For Britain campaign group, Labour's potential success was said to be under varying degrees of risk.
If the Reform party - the reincarnation of the Brexit party - repeats the tactic used in 2019, of standing aside in Tory marginals, Labour's seats would still be at a healthy 401, leaving the Conservatives on 202.
Another scenario has Labour winning 370 seats to the Tories' 232, based on redistributing undecided voters by their education profile.
If both were combined, under what was billed as Labour's "worst-case scenario", the model predicts a hung parliament - with the party about a dozen seats short of a majority, with 316, leaving the Tories at 286.
The UK economy will continue to lag behind other countries in the G7 group of advanced economies this year, despite improved growth projections, new analysis has shown. As PA Media reports, only Germany, which fell into a recession over the start of the year and is set to stagnate throughout 2023, will perform worse than the UK. PA says:
Analysis from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) forecast that the UK's economy will just about eke out growth this year. It expects GDP to edge up by 0.3% before improving moderately to 1% growth in 2024. It compares with the OECD's previous forecast in March of a 0.2% decline in GDP this year followed by a rise of 0.9% next year. All other economies in the G7 apart from Germany - the US, Canada, France, Italy and Japan - are expected to grow at faster rates this year, showing Britain is lagging behind on the international stage. It is also a significantly slower rate when compared with the group of 20 (G20) advanced economies as a whole, which is predicted to see GDP growth of 2.8% this year and 2.9% next year. The best performer among the G7 is set to be the US, with its economy forecast to grow by 1.6% this year before easing to 1% in 2024. "The global economy is turning a corner but faces a long road ahead to attain strong and sustainable growth," the OECD chief economist, Clare Lombardelli, said. The UK economy will be "propped up" by government investment and spending, including on energy bills support measures, the OECD said. And as energy prices come down, inflation will ease and global economic conditions will improve. "However, weak household income growth will weigh on consumption despite the fall in inflation, monetary tightening will slow both housing and already sluggish business investment, and uncertainty will continue to reduce the contribution of trade to growth," the OECD said in its report. Core inflation - which does not account for food and energy prices - is set to be more persistent, only receding to 3.2% in 2024, the projections show. And unemployment will rise, reaching 4.5% next year.
Analysis from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) forecast that the UK's economy will just about eke out growth this year.
It expects GDP to edge up by 0.3% before improving moderately to 1% growth in 2024.
It compares with the OECD's previous forecast in March of a 0.2% decline in GDP this year followed by a rise of 0.9% next year.
All other economies in the G7 apart from Germany - the US, Canada, France, Italy and Japan - are expected to grow at faster rates this year, showing Britain is lagging behind on the international stage.
It is also a significantly slower rate when compared with the group of 20 (G20) advanced economies as a whole, which is predicted to see GDP growth of 2.8% this year and 2.9% next year.
The best performer among the G7 is set to be the US, with its economy forecast to grow by 1.6% this year before easing to 1% in 2024.
"The global economy is turning a corner but faces a long road ahead to attain strong and sustainable growth," the OECD chief economist, Clare Lombardelli, said.
The UK economy will be "propped up" by government investment and spending, including on energy bills support measures, the OECD said.
And as energy prices come down, inflation will ease and global economic conditions will improve.
"However, weak household income growth will weigh on consumption despite the fall in inflation, monetary tightening will slow both housing and already sluggish business investment, and uncertainty will continue to reduce the contribution of trade to growth," the OECD said in its report.
Core inflation - which does not account for food and energy prices - is set to be more persistent, only receding to 3.2% in 2024, the projections show. And unemployment will rise, reaching 4.5% next year.
As Ed Conway, Sky's economics editor points, out, the OECD also says inflation in the UK will be higher this year than in any other G20 economy - although, in global terms, the UK is roughly in the middle in inflation terms, he points out.
The full OECD report is here.
PMQs is starting soon. It will be the second encounter between Oliver Dowden, the deputy PM who is standing in while Rishi Sunak is in Washington, and Angela Rayner, the deputy Labour leader.
Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.
Labour says the lastest OECD report (see 10.07am) shows Britons are "paying the price for Tory failure". In a statement, James Murray, the shadow financial secretary to the Treasury, said:
That the UK will have the highest inflation in the developed world is a mark of government failure. Inflation has remained so high in Britain - and hit families so hard - because our economy has been badly weakened by 13 years of Tory economic mismanagement. Labour's mission to secure the highest sustained growth in the G7 will make our economy stronger and more secure and stop working people paying the price for Tory failure.
That the UK will have the highest inflation in the developed world is a mark of government failure.
Inflation has remained so high in Britain - and hit families so hard - because our economy has been badly weakened by 13 years of Tory economic mismanagement.
Labour's mission to secure the highest sustained growth in the G7 will make our economy stronger and more secure and stop working people paying the price for Tory failure.
Best for Britain has now published details of the MRP polling it commissioned from Focaldata here.
Naomi Smith, chief executive of Best for Britain, says the figures show the need for tactical voting by progressive voters. She says:
The next election still looks like Labour's to lose but the high number of undecided voters and marginal seats coupled with the threat of right wing parties working together suggests victory is far from in the bag. That's why, when the starting pistol on the next general election is fired, Best for Britain will unleash the most powerful tactical voting operation the UK has ever seen using up to date MRP polling the information they need on how to vote in their area to deliver a change in government.
The next election still looks like Labour's to lose but the high number of undecided voters and marginal seats coupled with the threat of right wing parties working together suggests victory is far from in the bag.
That's why, when the starting pistol on the next general election is fired, Best for Britain will unleash the most powerful tactical voting operation the UK has ever seen using up to date MRP polling the information they need on how to vote in their area to deliver a change in government.
Darren Rodwell, the Labour leader of Barking and Dagenham council, has suggested that families could be evicted from council housing if they do not inform on people who commit knife crime.
Sadiq Khan, the Labour mayor of London, has criticised the proposal. He told LBC:
I understand that Darren cares passionately about keeping his community safe, as we all do, but you have to be careful about unintended consequences with the best of intentions leading to big problems. We don't want innocent people being made homeless because of the actions of somebody in their home.
I understand that Darren cares passionately about keeping his community safe, as we all do, but you have to be careful about unintended consequences with the best of intentions leading to big problems.
We don't want innocent people being made homeless because of the actions of somebody in their home.
Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, has welcomed some elements of today's OECD report (see 10.07am), particularly what it says about his plans to expand free childcare. He says:
Today's report boosts our growth forecast, praises our action to help parents back to work with a major expansion of free childcare, and recognises our cuts to business taxes which aim to drive investment. But while inflation is still too high, we must stick relentlessly to our plan to halve it this year. That is the only long-term way to grow the economy and ease the cost of living pressures on families.
Today's report boosts our growth forecast, praises our action to help parents back to work with a major expansion of free childcare, and recognises our cuts to business taxes which aim to drive investment.
But while inflation is still too high, we must stick relentlessly to our plan to halve it this year. That is the only long-term way to grow the economy and ease the cost of living pressures on families.
The OECD report does welcome the government's childcare plans. But it says they should be implemented quickly. PA Media says:
The OECD also stressed that women's skills are not being fully utilised in the labour market, because they disproportionately work part-time due to caring duties. It urged that the government's new childcare measure be "implemented swiftly" to improve participation in the national workforce - which offers 30 hours a week of free childcare for working parents of children aged nine to 24 months. The policy is not due to come into effect until 2024, and may not be fully in play until September 2025.
The OECD also stressed that women's skills are not being fully utilised in the labour market, because they disproportionately work part-time due to caring duties.
It urged that the government's new childcare measure be "implemented swiftly" to improve participation in the national workforce - which offers 30 hours a week of free childcare for working parents of children aged nine to 24 months.
The policy is not due to come into effect until 2024, and may not be fully in play until September 2025.
Lawyers representing Covid bereaved families in Scotland have called for all of the former first minister Nicola Sturgeon's WhatsApp and other messages to be released to the UK Covid inquiry.
Counsel acting for Scottish ministers had previously said that Sturgeon did not have any relevant informal correspondence but the families' lead solicitor, Aamer Anwar, said it should be for the inquiry to judge what was relevant to the handling of the pandemic.
This comes as the row between the inquiry and the Westminster government over access to WhatsApp messages deepens.
This morning it was also revealed that Scotland's national Covid memorial has been defaced with anti-vaccination graffiti. The words "masking and vaxxing kids" were daubed on the oak artwork in Pollock Park, Glasgow, while an information board was completely destroyed.
Steve Barclay, the health secretary, also had trouble with Kay Burley this morning when the Sky News presenter tried to get him to justify the government's decision to take the Covid inquiry to court. HuffPost has the full story here.
Good morning. He had a terrible day in court yesterday. Not Prince Harry (or not just Prince Harry) - from the government's point of view, it was Nicholas Chapman's performance that should be a lot more worrying. Chapman was representing the Cabinet Office in the Covid inquiry (not quite a court - but very similar, and as good as), and he was unable to defend the government's position in terms of releasing documents to the inquiry - because it's all a muddle. Asked to explain the Cabinet Office's position on redacting documents from Boris Johnson that Johnson says should go to the inquiry unredacted, he replied: "The position is that the Cabinet Office is working out its position."
Officially, the government is still going to court because it does not accept the demand from the inquiry that it should submit all WhatsApp messages from Johnson and others to the inquiry so that the inquiry itself can work out what is relevant. It is seeking judicial review, arguing that it should have the right to hold back "unambiguously irrelevant" material. Heather Hallett, the inquiry chair, says that it should be up to her to decide what is irrelevant, and that of course irrelevant material won't be disclosed.
Steve Barclay, the health secretary, was doing interviews on behalf of the government this morning. He was there to talk about extending the availability of weight loss drugs, but he was asked about the Covid inquiry, and he failed to give a full defence of the government's decision to take the inquiry to court.
In an interview on the Today programme, asked by Nick Robinson why the government would not just trust Hallett to decide what was and was not relevant, Barclay implied this was just about "clarification". He said:
My understanding this is some clarification that is being sought. Obviously, the use of WhatsApp and the way modern communication was used [during the pandemic] was a new area, to some extent, in terms of government, and the way government business was conducted. And the Cabinet Office wants to clarify some points around that.
Asked what needed to be clarified, he replied:
I think there's some small, technical questions that are being clarified by the Cabinet Office.
And when Robinson tried again, asking what were the reasons for going to court, Barclay replied:
It's a long, long time since I practised as a lawyer. I don't want to stray into legal questions that a better placed for others to explore.
Robinson also pointed out that the Department of Health and Social Care was praised by the Covid inquiry yesterday for being much more forthcoming than the Cabinet Office in releasing documents. Asked if he would advise his Cabinet Office colleagues to follow his lead, and just hand over the material, Barclay laughed, and just muttered something about decisions being "taken on their merits".
The Cabinet Office is run by Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister. He is taking PMQs later today, because Rishi Sunak is in Washington, and so we will probably get to hear more about this then.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Best for Britain, the internationalist campaign group, releases the results what it says is the first major nationwide MRP poll based on the new constituency boundaries that will be in place at the next election.
Noon: Oliver Dowden, the deputy PM, faces Angela Rayner, the deputy Labour leader, at PMQs.
After 12.30pm: MPs begin a debate on a Labour motion criticising the government's record on mental health. Later, at around 4pm, they will debate a Labour "humble address" motion saying the government should publish its correspondence relating to the decision to set up a review of the funding of the Teesworks project in the Teesside freeport area.
Afternoon (UK time): Rishi Sunak begins the first day of his trip to Washington. He is visiting Arlington National Cemetery, holding talks with political figures on Capitol Hill and giving interviews to broadcasters.
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