Rayner's up again. She says that on Raab's watch, rape survivors are waiting more than three years for their cases to come to court.

In that context, a ten-week reduction is "not anything to boast about," she tells the Commons.

Is it any wonder that from April to September last year, 175 trials for serious sexual assault had to be dropped because the victim could not cope with the delay, she asks.

She adds: "When will he apologise to all the women denied justice because of his failure to sort out the court backlog?"

Raab says the conviction rate measured by the CPS has gone up - "it's now 69%".

He says his government has quadrupled funding for victims since 2010 and the time taken has come down by 10 weeks.

Raab adds: "She should get her facts straight, particularly when talking about sensitive issues".

Rayner's back on her feet and is attacking the government's record of a "collapse" in charge rates for rape cases.

The government's "boasting about a 0.5% increase" in charge rates, she says, but only “1.6% of rapists face being charged for their crime”.

“A woman goes through the worst experience of her life and summons up the courage to relive that experience” only to see a charge rate of 1.6%, Rayner tells Raab, to cheers from her benches. “Over 98% of rapists will never see the inside of a courtroom.”

“The rest of those women spend their time looking over their shoulder, “ she says and asks if Raab will apologise to rape victims for leaving “rapists to roam the street”.

Raab responds by saying rape and serious sexual violence against women is one the government's "top priorities".

He says that, since 2019, police referrals of such cases have doubled, as have Crown Prosecution Service charges.

He says once again that Labour should back the government's parole reforms.

Rayner says that no-one, inside or outside the Commons, "believes there's more police on the streets".

She says policing has gone down and that Raab knows "trusted local police is crucial protecting women - who feel unsafe on Britain's streets".

Rayner goes on to ask him what the charge rate for rape is.

Raab says Labour's deputy leader and her party voted against the Conservative government's plans to handle crime and violence.

He adds that crime is lower than it was during the Labour government, violent crime has halved and reoffending is 7% lower.

Raab says Rayner and the Labour party should back their bill.

Rayner's back on her feet.

She says police officers across the country "are disappearing", leaving "people feeling unsafe".

She accuses the Conservatives of being "missing in action" - because, she says, after 13 years of Tory rule there are "6,000 fewer neighbourhood police officers".

Raab says he can "reassure the House he has never called anyone scum," referring to a comment Angela Rayner was reported to have made at the end of 2021.

He says if Labour were "serious" about dealing with anti-social behaviour, they would back the government's new plans on tackling such behaviour and on parole reform.

Angela Rayner's up, and she begins by remembering Baroness Boothroyd as well as TV and radio presenter Paul O'Grady, who she calls a "national treasure".

She then goes on to ask about the government's "anti-social behaviour policy" announced this week.

"The minister knows first hand the impact of thugs," she says to laughter from the Labour benches.

"Does he think more bullies will be brought to justice?" she asks, to applause from behind her.

She's referring to an investigation currently under way into allegations Raab had bullied civil servants during his time as justice secretary and foreign secretary under Boris Johnson and his time as Brexit secretary under Theresa May.

Raab has strongly denied bullying. But he has said he would resign if the inquiry concludes he had bullied staff.

Raab begins this week's proceedings by paying tribute to former Speaker Baroness Boothroyd, who died last month.

He says the House's thoughts and prayers are with Boothroyd's family on this, the day of her funeral.

Dominic Raab is up at the despatch box, which means one thing: this week's Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) is under way.

We'll be bringing you the latest from his exchange with Angela Rayner and fellow MPs, so stay with us.

Chris Mason
Political editor

Hello from the press gallery of the House of Commons, for PMQs with a difference. Prime Minister's Questions without the prime minister.

Rishi Sunak and the Labour leader Keir Starmer are away at the funeral of the former Speaker Baroness Boothroyd.

So, it is Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab - with bullying allegations he denies hanging over him - and the Deputy Labour Leader Angela Rayner as the central characters today.

And then, after PMQs, the Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick will be on his feet talking about plans for housing migrants.

Here goes...

Reality Check

In addition to taking on PMQs today, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab appeared on a range of news programmes this morning.

Talking about satisfaction with the NHS, he said: “The backlogs, waiting times, waiting lists are down by around two thirds since their peak of the pandemic.”

We asked the Department of Health what this was based on and they said he was referring to figures, external for the number of people waiting more than 18 months for NHS care in England. That specific figure has actually fallen by more than 80% since their high-point in September 2021.

But the overall figures for waiting times do not show a fall.

The latest NHS England figures, external show that 7.2 million people had been referred for treatment but not yet started it in January 2023, which is well up from 5.9 million in September 2021 and the highest since records began in 2007.

• Find out more about waiting times in your area

Sam Francis
Political reporter

Political leaders past and present will be missing from the House of Commons chamber today as they gather for the funeral of Baroness Boothroyd, who died last month aged 93.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer are expected to be among the mourners at St George's Church in Thirplow, Cambridgeshire. Current Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle will also attend.

As we've said, this means Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab will be answering questions, while Angela Rayner will stand in for the Labour leader.

Sam Hancock
Live reporter

Hello and thanks for joining us as we gear up for this week's Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs), where we usually see the prime minister and leader of the opposition face off on the week's biggest political issues.

It'll be a slightly different set-up today, with Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab filling in for Rishi Sunak and deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner for Sir Keir Starmer. This is because Sunak and Sir Keir are at the funeral of Betty Boothroyd, the former Commons speaker who died last month.

So what can we expect? Well, Raab, who's also the justice secretary, could be asked about a few different things including:

• his Victims and Prisoners Bill, which will allow ministers to block the release of some prisoners
• the government's controversial new plans to house migrants in ex-military bases
• new laws on anti-social behaviour

After PMQs, we're also due to hear from Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick, who'll formally announce those plans on housing migrants.

It's set to be a busy couple of hours, stay with us for live updates and analysis throughout.