Summary

  • Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner is challenged on welfare reforms, as 120 Labour MPs prepare to oppose the government in a Commons vote next week

  • Rayner - stepping in at Prime Minister's Questions - is asked by the Conservatives' Mel Stride why she thinks she is right, and her colleagues are wrong

  • Rayner says "we're pressing ahead with our reforms", which she says will help more people back to work

  • Accusing Rayner of "sidestepping" the question, Stride then asks if the vote will even go ahead on Tuesday

  • Rayner confirms it will take place - this leaves the government with little wiggle room, writes our correspondent Joe Pike

  • The planned changes to welfare aim to save £5bn a year by 2030 - read our mini-explainer here

  • Watch the Commons live at the top of the page

Rayner confirms welfare vote will go ahead next week as she defends reforms

Live Reporting

Edited by Rorey Bosotti and Adam Durbin

  1. How are welfare payments changing?

    Let's take a look at some of the changes to the benefits system the government is seeking to implement - and which are causing some push back from several MPs.

    How is Pip changing?

    Pip, or personal independent payments, are made up of daily living and mobility payments.

    Pip is assessed by working out someone's ability to carry out basic tasks, like showering or cooking a meal, and graded from zero for no difficulty to 12 for severe difficulty.

    Under the new proposals, you would need to score at least four points for each activity to meet the minimum criteria. Payments for mobility will not be affected.

    What about universal credit?

    The government is also likely to make changes to universal credit.

    The basic level of universal credit is worth £393.45 a month to a single person who is 25 or over.

    Under the government's proposals, claimants will not be able to get this incapacity top-up until they are aged 22 or over.

    New claimants will also see this top-up fall from £97 extra per week in 2025-26 to £50 a week by 2026-27, before being frozen until the end of 2029-30.

    The higher rate for existing health-related claimants will also be frozen for the same period. At the same time, the basic payment level for universal credit will rise.

    Who will be affected?

    The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has said that it expects 3.2 million families to lose out as a result of the total package of measures, with an average loss of £1,720 per year.

  2. Benefit revolt brews as more Labour MPs ready to reject welfare cuts

    More than 130 MPs, including 120 from the Labour benches, have signed an amendment that would give them the opportunity to vote on a proposal to reject the government's plan to reform the welfare system.

    These proposals would cut disability and sickness-related benefits payments to save £5 billion a year by 2030.

    Among those to sign the letter are two MPs who were elected for Labour but have been suspended by the party - John McDonnell and Andrew Gwynne.

    Cabinet ministers are reported to be among those ringing round Labour MPs, calling on them to remove their names from the amendment. Only one Labour MP, Samantha Niblett, has removed her name from the list so far.

    The welfare reform bill - called the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill - will include proposals to make it harder for disabled people with less severe conditions to claim personal independence payments (Pip).

    Keir Starmer has vowed to "press ahead" with the welfare changes and Parliament is due to vote on the government's plans next week.

  3. Where is the prime minister?

    Keir Starmer standing in front of a grey-haired journalist (L, with his back to the camera) as he answers questions upon arriving to the Nato summit in The Hague. They're indoors and Starmer is standing in front of a blue wall with four Nato logosReuters

    As we've mentioned, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer won't be in the House of Commons today to answer questions from MPs.

    That's because he's currently in The Hague to attend the Nato summit, where he and other leaders are expected to commit to spending 5% of national output on defence and related infrastructure.

  4. It's nearly time for PMQs - What can we expect?

    Rorey Bosotti
    Live page editor

    For the second week in a row, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner steps in to take questions as Prime Minister Keir Starmer attends the Nato summit in The Hague.

    Standing in for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch will be shadow chancellor Mel Stride.

    We won't know exactly what MPs will be debating until PMQs is underway in the House of Commons a little later but there's plenty Rayner could be asked about.

    Among the issues that could come up are a potential Labour revolt to block planned welfare changes, and Starmer's commitment to spending 5% of GDP on defence by 2035.

    We’ll bring you live updates on the key lines and analysis as it unfolds, so stick with us.

    You can follow the debate on this week's political headlines from 12:00 BST by pressing watch live at the top of this page.