Now Starmer is taking questions from Debbie Abrahams, chair of the work and pensions select committee. She begins by asking him about the government's U-turn over changes to personal independence payment (Pip) eligibility.

Abrahams acknowledges concessions were made but says "the fear and anxiety" caused to disabled people by the bill "cannot be underestimated". She asks what the prime minister would tell them now.

Starmer says helping disabled people to feel support is central to what the government wants to do with welfare, and that he wants employers to do more to help people get back into work.

Abrahams presses him again, and asks what he will do to mitigate against a potential 50,000 newly disabled people being pushed into poverty.

Starmer points out the government has commissioned an independent review looking at helping people into work, which is due to report back with policy recommendations later this year.

Helen Hayes, chair of the education committee, brings up an inquiry into children's social care, saying young people experience a "cliff edge" in support at the age of 18.

She brings up a young person who had to give up her A-levels because she had to work in order to pay rent.

She asks Starmer if more people at age 18 need urgent additional support and how he would progress with this work.

Starmer agrees that children coming out of care "go off a cliff edge" from having support when they're in care to then having almost none.

He says the government will make sure to look at and respond to the committee's recommendations.

Hayes adds that mental health support often isn't there for young people who experienced trauma earlier in their lives.

Starmer reiterates that the government will look at the recommendations the committee has made.

Starmer outlines that he plans to make use of "other accommodation" and drive down asylum lists.

Meg Hillier then pushes the prime minister to explain what he means by "other accommodation", in terms of his plans to house families.

She then asks if he can provide specific examples. Starmer replies: "No, but I'll write in and give you details."

Hillier tells Starmer that, from her experience, "there isn't a lot of spare housing available".

She asks if the government will be placing homeless families into hotels.

Starmer says the government will look into what accommodation is available and will send a detailed letter.

Hillier says councils will be "breathless" waiting for that letter.

MPs sceptical over Starmer's homelessness planspublished at 14:56 British Summer Time 21 July

14:56 BST 21 July

Helen Catt
Political correspondent

There was a sceptical reaction from MPs on the committee to the prime minister's suggestion that there is "lots of housing" that could be taken over to house homeless families.

They suggest that's not the case in their local areas.

He promises he'll send further details to the committee, with some examples.

Florence Eshalomi continues to press Starmer on homelessness.

She says the capacity for councils to provide emergency temporary accommodation is at breaking point, and suggests an urgent reset in local authority funding is needed.

Starmer again says the government has put almost £1bn into homelessness and that he is committed to tackling it, including by cracking down on no fault evictions.

On the wider question of local authority funding, he says he has long believed it needs a fundamental review so that councils can plan their spending over multi-year periods.

Starmer is repeatedly pressed on how long it will take until the amount of emergency temporary accommodation available increases, given number of asylum seekers arriving in the country is adding further pressure.

The prime minister says extra money has already been allocated but that it will take some time until the full effect is felt.

Next up to quiz the prime minister is Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, who also raises the issue of freezing local housing allowances.

Forty-five per cent of households face a shortfall of the local housing allowance they receive and rent they pay, he says, noting that some local authorities top this up - which costs them £204m.

He asks what impact this may have had on increased homelessness.

Starmer says homelessness is a priority for his government, noting that they have put £905m into more temporary accommodation.

He says they are investing £1bn overall in reducing homelesness.

Clifton-Brown adds that due to the cladding remediation levy, affordable housing starts in London last year dropped by 90%.

Starmer responds by saying they need to drive that up.

Clifton-Brown then says that in June 2024 almost 6,000 households with children were being housed in in B&Bs.

Starmer notes that this is "a real problem" that needs to be turned around. He adds that it can't be fixed overnight.

Florence Eshalomi is now questioning Starmer on the decision to freeze local housing allowance, saying that this move is keeping children and families in poverty as they can't afford their rent.

She adds that recent data from the Local Government Association (LGA) shows there is a funding gap of around £7m over the last five years. Eshalomi pushes Starmer on whether this freeze was the right decision.

The prime minister defends the decision, adding that "in the end, we need to build and make available across the board, there simply isn't enough".

Meg Hillier interjects, asking for some clarity from Starmer on how the government will ensure the supply of affordable housing.

Starmer responds that the government has made a commitment of £39bn, but Hillier points out that this will be over 10 years.

Helen Catt
Political correspondent

It's all perfectly cordial so far, but the prime minister is now sitting face-to-face with some of the MPs who forced a U-turn on his welfare reforms just weeks ago.

Meg Hillier, who is chairing the Liaison Committee, put forward the amendment that sparked the rebellion.

Florence Eshalomi, who is also asking the PM questions, was a rebel too.

Now Florence Eshalomi, the chair of the housing select committee, begins her questioning by referencing the death of Awaab Ishak, a toddler who died after exposure to mould in his Rochdale home.

The government has previously announced a law change in his memory, which is designed to force landlords to act to fix dangerous homes.

Pressed on whether that law is going to be enforceable, Starmer says it will be but adds that there is "no silver bullet" when it comes to fixing housing issues in Britain.

He says that it is "terrible" that Awaab was able to die in those circumstances and that the government is committed to driving up standards.

Image source, UK Parliament/PA

Starmer then lays out four ways his government plans to achieve his priorities.

These include:

• Increasing income
• Decreasing costs
• Strengthening local support for people
• Boosting financial resilience

Meg Hillier then asks Starmer what he is personally doing from Downing Street to make sure departments work together to achieve these goals and stitching the issues together.

Starmer says cross-departmental working is "often the most difficult bit".

"We've set up designated taskforce to look at child poverty," he says, which he adds that he has oversight of.

Chair of the Liaison Committee Meg Hillier begins by asking Keir Starmer what he wants the UK to look like in three years' time.

The PM says he wants people to "feel better off and that the health service is working better for them and their families".

Starmer adds that he wants people to "feel safe and secure" both in their neighbourhoods and as a country, through our borders and defence.

On poverty, the prime minister says his government sees that "tackling poverty and breaking down barriers has to be central to what we do".

He says they will achieve this by putting in the support needed, but also by breaking down the barriers to opportunity.

"It is not a one department issue, it is across all departments because it is so deep-rooted."

Image source, UK Parliament

Keir Starmer has just taken his seat in front of the Liaison Committee and senior MPs are preparing to question the PM on his government's policies.

Stay tuned as we prepare to bring you all the latest from the Commons. You can also follow along by pressing watch live above.

Image source, Getty Images

As we've been reporting, this afternoon’s session will focus on two main areas: the government's priorities for dealing with poverty in the UK and a section on international affairs.

But here's a look at who will be grilling the PM.

On poverty in the UK:

• Debbie Abrahams - Work and Pensions
• Steve Barclay - Finance
• Ruth Cadbury – Transport
• Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown – Public Accounts
• Dame Caroline Dinenage - Culture, Media and Sport
• Florence Eshalomi – Housing, Communities and Local Government
• Patricia Ferguson – Scottish Affairs
• Helen Hayes – Education
• Andy Slaughter - Justice
• Nick Smith – Administration Estimate Audit and Risk Assurance

And on international affairs:

• Sir Geoffrey Clinton-Brown - Public Accounts
• Dame Caroline Dinenage - Culture, Media and Sport
• Andy Slaughter - Justice
• Dame Emily Thornberry - chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee

Image source, EPA

Tomorrow, Westminster’s summer recess begins. But that doesn’t mean MPs have slowed down in the lead up to the break.

Here’s a quick look back at what happened last week:

• Starmer said during PMQs on Wednesday that former Conservative ministers had "serious questions to answer" over the data leak on Afghans who supported British forces. The following day, former Defence Secretary Grant Shapps defended his actions
• On Wednesday, a new UK-Germany treaty was struck, which will strengthen defence ties between the two countries
• Thursday saw the government lower the voting age from 18 to 16

• Elsewhere, rising prices in the year to June has pushed inflation to 3.6%, the highest it has been since January 2024, official figures showed on Wednesday

• And Diane Abbott was suspended for a second time from Labour over comments about racism, while four other Labour MPs were also suspended from the party

Image source, Reuters

The second subject being tackled today is international affairs, and there's no shortage of possible topics the PM could face questions on.

One question that’s likely to come up is the Israel – Hamas war. The PM has faced pressure from some of his own MPs to take further action against Israel over what they say is a genocide in Gaza. Starmer has repeatedly called for a ceasefire, and last month described the situation there as “appalling and intolerable".

Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine continues. Last week, US President Donald Trump gave Russian President Vladimir Putin an ultimatum of 50 days to agree to a ceasefire or face “very severe tariffs… at about 100%”.

The UK has played a prominent role in the formation of the so-called coalition of the willing, which earlier this year announced a four-point plan to work with Ukraine to end the war and defend the country from Russia.

And then there's Donald Trump's and his influence on global relationships. The UK may be breathing a sigh of relief since it has negotiated some protections from his unpredictable trade policies, but with tariffs due to rise on the US's other trade partners, Britain won't be immune from the international shocks that the Trump administration is fuelling.

Image source, Getty Images

The main section of the meeting this afternoon will focus on how the government is dealing with poverty in the UK.

We don't know exactly what the questions will be, but recent headlines include England's children's commissioner saying at the start of July that some children are living in "Dickensian" levels of poverty.

Dame Rachel de Souza insisted the government should scrap the two-child benefit cap, which prevents most families claiming means-tested benefits for any third or additional children born after April 2017.

A government spokesperson said at the time it was "determined to bring down child poverty" and that it had announced a £1bn package to improve crisis support.

Elsewhere, MPs approved the government's benefits bill this month, which contains measures to implement cuts to the health-related element of universal credit for some claimants while ensuring other parts of the benefit rise above inflation.

In a letter to the Department for Work and Pensions, the United Nation's high commissioner asked about measures to "address the foreseeable risk of increasing poverty rates amongst person with disabilities if cuts are approved".

Image source, PA Media

The prime minister will soon be sitting down to be quizzed by members of the Liaison Committee - but what exactly is the committee?

For each government department, there's a select committee of MPs from different political parties who scrutinise their work, and the Liaison Committee is made up of MPs who chair the individual committees.

It's the Liaison Committee's job to quiz the PM on public policy, usually three times a year.

The topics and questions Keir Starmer will be asked about are decided before today's meeting, and we're expecting them to cover dealing with poverty in the UK and international affairs.

Image source, Reuters

As many politicians' minds turn to Westminster's summer break (which begins tomorrow), the prime minister still has one more high-profile event in his diary.

Keir Starmer will be grilled by senior MPs on the Liaison Committee in the Commons from 14:30 BST. The PM will face the 11 chairs of major committees, marking the third time he's done so since Labour won the election just over a year ago.

Part of today's agenda will focus on the government’s priorities for dealing with poverty in the UK, which could involve questions around the two-child benefit cap or the recent welfare reforms.

There will also be questions on international affairs - though it's not yet clear what will be brought up.

We will bring you the key lines and analysis right here, or you can follow along by pressing watch live at the top of this page.