The public is being put at risk due to the NHS crisis and ministers are failing to offer protection, Rayner says.

She asks if Shapps accepts that trade unions already take steps to protect the public during action.

Rayner's now listing the people on Shapps' own benches who don't agree with this new legislation.

The education secretary (Gillian Keegan) doesn't want it, the deputy Labour leader says.

The transport secretary (Mark Harper ) doesn't either, she adds.

Rayner criticises Shapps for not having any common sense when it comes to solving the wave of industrial action sweeping the country.

She says trains don't run on non-strike days.

"How can he seriously think that sacking thousands of key workers won't just plunge our public services further into crisis."

Rayner asks now if Shapps denies considering banning some key workers from joining a union.

She also asks where is the Tories' promise on the code of conduct on fire and rehire - where staff are laid off and then brought back in new contracts often with less pay and poorer conditions. The government had promised an employment bill which is intended to tackle insecure work.

Shapps is thanking nurses in one breath to sacking them in the next, Rayner says.

Rayner continues her attack on Shapps by saying nobody wants to see strike action and pointing out this is a crisis that's been made by government.

How are ministers responding, she asks?

She points to failed talks with unions, saying Tory MPs are failing to reach a deal by negotiating.

Angela Rayner says the government offers no solution and insists the Conservatives have caused the problem.

"The economic crisis made in Downing Street with sky-high inflation and recession has left working people facing an economic emergency," she says.

Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner is up now to respond to Shapps' statement.

She tells the House of Commons about a constituent who waited more than an hour for an ambulance and died waiting, and that was not on a strike day.

"That is because of the disastrous chaos we have in the system under this Conservative government," Rayner says.

Shapps questions why Labour MPs - some of who are audibly protesting what he's saying - have already opposed this legislation without hearing any of the details.

He accuses Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer of saying he'd oppose the bill Shapps is trying to push through, despite not knowing the details in full.

He says the safety levels he's trying to ensure are established are in the interests of Labour MPs' constituents.

David Wallace Lockhart
BBC political correspondent

This bill has a long - and potentially tricky - parliamentary journey ahead of it. But it shows the direction of travel the government wants to go in.

Ministers want to use the law to ensure that staffing levels in certain parts of the public sector, such as health, “protect the public” even during strikes.

But this would mean certain strikes are less disruptive. Given that this is the point of industrial action, this may well dilute the impact certain employees can have during disputes.

This is all happening while there seems to be signs ministers and some unions are starting to make progress towards agreements to end current strikes (though this is far from guaranteed).

While there may be a “chink of light” (as one union put it at the weekend) in the current situation, the government may well want to avoid being in the same position at some point in the future, and this legislation could help with that.

Though obviously it will be fiercely opposed by the union movement.

While Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has had a slightly tetchy relationship with a number of union leaders during recent strikes (he told his frontbenchers to avoid picket lines) the party is sticking to its trade union roots on this issue, insisting they would repeal this legislation.

Shapps is giving more details about the strike bill that will give the government the power to ensure public sector will have to provide a minimum level of service.

The government is looking at six key areas - health, education, fire, rescue, transport, border security and nuclear decommissioning.

"We must ensure the safety of the British public," he says.

Shapps makes a point that the proposals being put forward are similar to other European countries.

He describes approaches taken in France, Spain, Italy and Germany as "common sense".

"Unlike other countries we are not proposing banning strikes," Shapps says.

The business secretary blames action by ambulance workers - the second round of which takes place tomorrow - on a "lack of timely co-operation from the ambulance unions".

He says health authorities were left "guessing" how much of a risk the walkouts would cause during the last strike - and that this time there's still no "minimum safety levels in place".

This will result in "patchy" care for the public, which cannot happen, Shapps tells the Commons.

Shapps says the government is duty bound to protect the livelihoods of the British people.

The public needs to know that when they suffer a serious injury an ambulance will turn up and if they need hospital care they have access to it, he says.

People should also have access to trains and buses, he adds.

He then thanks the Royal College of Nursing for ensuring safe levels of cover were in place during industrial action.

"They showed they could do their protest in a reasonable and mature way whilst withdrawing their labour," he says.

They put the public first and we need all public services to do the same, he adds.

Image source, bbc

Shapps says granting public sector workers - like nurses and ambulance staff - settlements that fall outside the independent pay review process "isn't the sensible way to proceed".

It won't provide a fair outcome, he tells MPs.

The government also has a duty to give the British people access to public services, Shapps adds.

Continuing his speech Grant Shapps insists the government wants to resolve the industrial disputes.

He points out that all households are struggling and need access to essential public services.

Business Secretary Grant Shapps is giving a statement now in the House of Commons on the government's proposed anti-strike legislation.

Shapps said nurses, paramedics and transport workers are called key workers for a reason.

"They truly are the lifeblood of the country," he said.

He goes on to say the government will always defend public sector workers' liberty to withdraw their labour, but also recognises the pressures they face.

The government wants to resolve disputes, while delivering what is fair and equal to the taxpayer, Shapps adds.

Grant Shapps is on his feet in the Commons. He's a few minutes earlier than we expected. Stay with us as we bring you the main updates.

David Wallace Lockhart
BBC political correspondent

Downing Street says its law to maintain minimum service levels during strikes will "strike the balance" between the right to take action and protecting the public.

The prime minister's official spokesman said that if certain sectors took action without ensuring safe working levels then the legislation being introduced today would provide a "safety net".

The spokesman said the government would consult on what staffing levels would be considered "safe".

They added that the Royal College of Nursing took "responsible steps" to ensure safe working levels during their recent strikes.

On tomorrow's ambulance strike, Downing Street said there was not "across the board reassurance" about a safe level or provision which was "deeply regrettable and understandably concerning for the public".

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Oliver Dowden, told cabinet this morning the upcoming ambulance strike would be "challenging".

New legislation requiring minimum levels of service from firefighters, railway workers and ambulance staff, during industrial action has drawn criticism from union bosses.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said the proposed anti-strike legislation represents an attack on all workers’ democratic rights and he called for a “mass movement of resistance” against it.

FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said: "This is an attack on all workers - including key workers, who kept our public services going during the pandemic.

"It's an attack on Britain's Covid heroes and on all workers. We need a mass movement of resistance to this authoritarian attack."

Image source, PA Media

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham slammed the legislation as a “dangerous gimmick from a government that should be negotiating to resolve the current crisis they have caused."

General secretary of the TUC Paul Nowak said the plans were "undemocratic, unworkable, and almost certainly illegal".

Mick Lynch, RMT general secretary, said the union will oppose the legislation " in the courts, Parliament and the workplace”.

He warned the law could result in workers being sacked for participating in strike action.

"The only reason this draconian legislation is being introduced is because they have lost the argument and want to punish workers for having the temerity to demand decent pay and working conditions,” Lynch said.

Image source, PA Media

So, as we're about to hear from Business Secretary Grant Shapps, the government wants to bring in a new law which will ensure public sector workers maintain minimum service levels during strike action.

We can expect some more detail from Shapps, but for now what we understand is that the new proposals mean some trade union members will be required to continue working during a strike.

Laws requiring a minimum level of service during industrial action were already promised for public transport as part of the Conservative's 2019 election manifesto. A bill was introduced to Parliament in October.

The government is now seeking to extend this requirement to five other areas - the NHS, education, fire and rescue, border security, and nuclear decommissioning.

To meet minimum staffing levels - which are still to be announced - employers would be able to issue a "work notice" stating the workforce they need.

Employees named on the work notice would lose their right to protection from unfair dismissal if they then went on strike.

Consultations over what the minimum levels for each sector might look like would be due to start imminently.