Labour's Chris Elmore opens proceedings by asking whether the prime minister has ever considered a government appointment for his wife?

The prime minister says the opposition is only interested in talking about "non-existent jobs" covered in the media because they don't want to talk about "what's going on in the real world" of employment - citing the high employment rates under the Tories.

Downing Street and Carrie Johnson's spokeswoman have denied allegations in the Times that Boris Johnson attempted to place her in a government job while he was Foreign Secretary.

Boris Johnson begins PMQs mentioning the new Windrush Day national monument at Waterloo station and thanks armed forces for their services to the country.

He also welcomes a deal with Moderna.

He says he will be travelling to Rwanda to the Commonwealth Heads of government summit later.

Chris Mason
Political editor

I think it will be, as far as Sir Keir Starmer and Labour are concerned, a conversation that will focus on the strikes.

The strikes yesterday, the ones to come tomorrow and the ones to come on Saturday.

We've been reporting that prices are currently rising by 9.1% a year in the UK - the highest rate for 40 years. But why - and where - is this actually happening?

Energy bills are one of the biggest contributors to inflation right now, as oil and gas prices remain at elevated levels in part due to the Ukraine war.

Fuel prices are also surging, with average petrol prices hitting 186.59p per litre in June 2022 versus 130.5p a year earlier, as are food prices.

The costs of raw materials, household goods, furniture and restaurants and hotels are going up, as is the rate of VAT for some businesses.

Air passenger duty and vehicle excise duty rates have also increased, as have the cost of postage, and water bills in England and Wales.

Read more here.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is on his feet, as this week's Prime Minister's Questions gets under way.

Stay with us for live updates.

Image source, PA Media

Talks to end the rail strike have resumed today, but are unlikely to prevent disruption on Thursday due to the timetable being set.

On Tuesday, half of all lines were closed and much of the country had no rail service at all, including most of Scotland and Wales, the whole of Cornwall and Dorset, and places such as Chester, Hull, Lincoln and Worcester.

The tail wind of yesterday's strike action delayed the first trains on Wednesday morning by up to four hours in some places on - and only 60% of trains are running, despite it not being a strike day.

Thursday's strike will once again see half of the network closed and only 20% of services running - with some areas having no trains at all. However, RMT members on London Underground will not walk out on Thursday.

Network Rail's chief negotiator Tim Shoveller stressed there was "still time for talking".

"A really key objective for me is to make sure we get these strikes called off at the earliest possible opportunity," he told the BBC.

With 48 hours' notice, disruption on Saturday could be avoided if a deal is agreed, it is understood.

The RMT is calling for a pay rise of 7%, while employers have offered a maximum of 3%.

"Our members will continue the campaign and have shown outstanding unity in the pursuit of a settlement to this dispute," said RMT general secretary Mick Lynch.

PMQs is due to get started in a few minutes' time.

Stay with us for full coverage of the exchanges between Boris Johnson and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

It all kicks off at 12:00 BST

Vicki Young
Deputy Political Editor

Another week where the Labour leader has plenty of ammunition to lob in the Prime Minister's direction - rail workers on strike, prices soaring, hospitals struggling with a backlog, Boris Johnson facing more questions about ethics.

Can Sir Keir Starmer hit his target? Will the PM have any answers? He's sure to talk tough on strikes and will invite Labour to do the same.

Ahead of by-elections, the Lib Dems will do everything they can to talk about Devon.

Teachers will be asked if they want to strike if the government does not take "sufficient action" over pay, a union has warned.

The National Education Union (NEU) has written to Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi calling for pay rises at or above the rate of price rises.

The government has previously recommended a pay increase of 3%, but this came before inflation hit 40-year highs in April and May.

In its letter, the NEU says real terms pay for teachers has fallen by 20% since 2010 - with salaries relative to overall wages in the country also at the lowest in decades.

The union says teachers are calculating their "alarmingly low" hourly rates for their work, adding this situation was hurting recruitment drives.

Shoppers are increasingly setting limits at supermarket tills, as they endeavour to keep to a budget as prices soar.

Asda chairman Lord Stuart Rose said there had been "a massive change" in consumer behaviour since inflation reached a 40-year high in April.

"People are trading back. They are worried about spending," he said.

"They say £30 is one limit... and if they get to more than £30 then that's it, stop. It's the same with petrol."

Latest data by the supermarket shows households had, on average, £44 less a week in discretionary income in May compared with a year ago - a fall of nearly 18%.

Lord Rose said the country was facing some very tough times and urged the government to do more to help low income households.

Image source, Reuters

Union leaders have accused ministers of "living on another planet" over talk of wage restraint in the public sector.

Jon Richards, assistant general secretary Unison, said: "Under-pressure health, care, school and council services desperately need staff to be given a pay boost that matches runaway prices."

The dispute comes amid ongoing strikes by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) in a dispute over pay, jobs and conditions on the railways.

The union has called for a pay rise of 7%, while rail employers have offered a maximum of 3%.

Talks to end the dispute have resumed, but train services remain disrupted ahead of a second planned walkout by around 40,000 RMT members on Thursday.

However, is not just rail workers considering strikes, with many teachers and health workers also discussing industrial action later in the year over pay offers failing to address the cost of living crisis.

In a BBC-commissioned survey of more than 4,000 people, 82% said they thought their wages should increase to match the rising price of goods and services.

Image source, PA Media

Cost of living pressures have led to unions and workers calling for pay rises – and are a key trigger behind this week’s rail strikes.

Union bosses have called for a pay rise of 7% to help workers cope with soaring inflation, but the government has warned against employers handing out big increases in salaries over fears of a 1970s style "inflationary spiral", where prices continued to rise as wages went up.

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab told BBC Breakfast "one of the things that will keep inflation higher for longer is if we don't have pay restraint, in the context of the public sector in particular".

He told the Today programme "fuelling pay demands... will only see inflation stay higher for longer and that only hurts the poorest the worst".

But Raab defended restoring the pensions triple lock, which will see the benefit rise in line with inflation saying pensioners were "particularly vulnerable and they are disproportionately affected by the increase in energy costs".

The government had committed £37 billion to help people cope with rising costs, he told the BBC.

Image source, .

As the majority of you are no doubt feeling when it comes to shopping, filling your car or paying bills, prices rises are continuing at their fastest rate for 40 years.

UK inflation was 9.1% in the 12 months to May - a small rise on the 9% in April - hitting the highest rate of price rises since 1982, according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data.

Inflation is the pace at which prices are rising. For example, if a bottle of milk costs £1 and that rises by 5p compared with a year earlier, then milk inflation is 5%.

Food price rises, particularly for bread, cereal and meat, were a big factor in the latest rise, the ONS explains.

The Bank of England has warned inflation will reach 11% this year, amid spiralling costs of energy, fuel and food.

Households were hit by an unprecedented £700-a-year increase in energy costs in April – with bills likely to go up by around £800 more in October - while fuel price rises in June mean it costs more than £100 to fill an average family car with petrol.

Read more here.

Image source, PA Media

Good morning – and welcome to our live page where we will be covering Prime Minister's Questions, live at noon from the House of Commons.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will face Labour leader Keir Starmer, with issues including the ongoing rise in inflation, now at 9.1%, and this week's rail strikes likely to take centre stage.

Talks have resumed between rail bosses and the RMT union this morning, after the first of three planned days of rail strikes, which saw only 20% of trains running in England, Wales and Scotland.

Questions over Dominic Raab's proposed Bill of Rights – which would effectively allow the UK to overturn some rulings by the European Court of Human Rights, and give the government back control over controversial plans to send refugees to Rwanda – are also likely to come up.

And then there's tomorrow's by-elections in Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton.

It looks like it's going to be a hot afternoon in Parliament.