Sunak and Starmer clash on house building targets at PMQs

1. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has faced Labour's Keir Starmer at Parliament's weekly session of Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs)
2. Starmer said housebuilding was at the lowest level "since the war" - because Sunak "won't stand up to his party"
3. But Sunak said 2.2m homes had been built under the Conservatives - more than under Labour - and that he had kept a promise to put local people in charge of housing
4. The SNP's Stephen Flynn accused the PM of "patronising" the public by asking them to "hold their nerve" on the economy
5. The government then answered an urgent question amid reports the UK's largest water firm, Thames Water, could be on the brink of collapse
6. Environment minister Rebecca Pow has insisted that the water sector is "financially resilient", and that she's confident the regulator would be working closely with any firm in trouble

Drawing this page to a close

James FitzGerald

Live reporter

Thanks for joining us as we followed another session of debate and discussion in Westminster.

We've brought you coverage of the Sunak-Starmer exchanges on housebuilding and mortgages at Prime Minister's Questions, and also the government's response to an urgent question about the future of Thames Water.

• For more on the housing topic, head here for our full report from PMQs
• And for the latest lines on reported fears that Thames Water could collapse, you can read more here

This page was brought to you by Sam Hancock, Emily Atkinson, Chas Geiger, Laura Gozzi, Jamie Whitehead, Owen Amos Heather Sharp and me.

A lengthy debate on Thames Water - but what now?

The Commons debate on the UK's water industry is over now, but we're aware people's concerns about the potential collapse of Thames Water may still loom large.

To keep up to date with the latest, head to our main news story here. You'll also find anything we publish about Thames Water on the BBC News website here.

Here's a quick recap of what's been said today:

• Answering an urgent question in the Commons, environment minister Rebecca Pow said the government and Ofwat - the independent water regulator - took the financial resilience of the water sector "very seriously". But she refused to comment on the "individual financial position" of Thames Water
• Shadow environment secretary Jim McMahon criticised Therese Coffey, the secretary of state, for not being present to answer the question - but Pow said it fell under her remit as water minister
• On sewage leaks, McMahon added the public was suffering because the issue was leading to water shortages across the country
• In a statement, Thames Water said it was working "constructively with its shareholders" and considered itself to "maintain a strong liquidity position"
• Outside the Commons, MPs from across the political divide - including Conservative Kemi Badenoch and Labour's Ed Miliband - said they were concerned about the Thames Water situation, with Miliband going as far as calling it "an absolute scandal"

PMQs recap

House of Commons

Let's take a look back at what happened at Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) a little earlier.

• Housebuilding and homeownership were a big feature of the exchanges between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer, with the Labour leader accusing the prime minister of "giving up" by failing people dreaming of owning a home - and also hitting those with a mortgage
• Sunak said 2.2m homes had been built under the Conservatives since 2010 - more than were built during Labour's 13 years in power - and that he had kept a promise to put local people in charge of housing
• The SNP's Stephen Flynn accused Sunak of patronising the public by telling mortgage holders to "hold their nerve". Sunak said mortgage rates were going up because the government was busy tackling inflation - and accused the SNP of "economic illiteracy"
• Labour MP Chris Bryant asked Sunak if he would admit he was "the worst person to lead the country". Sunak said Labour was only coming with ideas that would make matters worse for people
• Among other points, the prime minister also mentioned that "tough decisions" were needed to bring down inflation and that £5bn was being invested to help children catch up with lost learning

WATCH: Sunak vs Starmer PMQs in full

If you missed PMQs, here's Rishi Sunak versus Keir Starmer in full

BBC Verify

Will mortgages go up by £2,900 a year?

During today's session in the Commons, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told MPs: "Because of their [the government's] economic chaos, mortgage holders will be £2,900 a year poorer."

That's a figure from the Resolution Foundation, which tried to work out how much the average payment would increase for households remortgaging next year.

So it's not a cost for the average homeowner, it's a cost for the average homeowner remortgaging next year.

Also, while analysis has identified domestic sources of inflation, there are clearly also global factors, so it cannot all be blamed on the government.

WATCH: PM patronised public on rising bills - Flynn

Watch: Sunak patronised the public, says Flynn

Earlier, the SNP Westminster leader accused Rishi Sunak of patronising the public, following the prime minister's comments at the weekend when he asked the public to "hold their nerve" on the economy.

Stephen Flynn then asked Sunak when he last struggled to pay a bill.

The PM hit back, saying Flynn "exposed" the SNP's "economic illiteracy".

BBC Verify

Have 2.2 million homes been built under the Tories?

In today's debate, Rishi Sunak was also questioned about whether he is for or against building 300,000 homes a year.

This was a 2019 Conservative party manifesto commitment which some have accused the government of watering down.

Sunak replied that “2.2 million additional homes” have been built while the government has been in office.

Since 2010 – when the Conservative Party came to power – a net total of 2.3 million dwellings have been built in England. This is the difference between the number of new homes completed and the number demolished.

As well as new-builds, the 2.3 million total includes properties that have been converted into homes or changed their use - for example from office to residential.

The government has never met its target of building 300,000 homes per year. On average, it has built 189,000 houses in each year it has been in office.

Between 1997 and 2010, an average of 171,000 houses were built a year under the Labour government.

BBC Verify

Are first-time buyers at a 20-year high?

Debating figures for housebuilding at PMQs, Rishi Sunak told MPs “In the last year we have figures for, we also saw a 20-year high in the number of first-time buyers.”

Housing market analyst Neal Hudson told the BBC that we did see a peak in the number of first-time buyers around September 2021 – when the temporary removal of stamp duty led to a surge in the housing market.

But since then, he says the number of new completions by first-time buyers has been falling.

And it is those people – first time buyers who bought close to the peak two years ago - who are about to see their two-year mortgage deals expiring.

We have contacted Downing Street to ask where the prime minister's figures for first-time buyers came from.

WATCH: Starmer and Sunak clash on housing

Watch: Starmer and Sunak on house building target figures

Earlier at PMQs. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer challenged each other on their housing policies.

In this exchange, Starmer says house building has collapsed under the Conservatives - but Sunak claims the Labour leader has "never kept a promise he had made".

Thames Water problems an absolute scandal, says Miliband

Outside the Commons, Labour's shadow climate change secretary Ed Miliband has described the situation at Thames Water as “an absolute scandal”.

He says it’s “a total condemnation of the mismanagement by this government over 13 years of the regulation of the water industry”.

Asked if Thames Water should be nationalised, Miliband says: “I don’t think the answer to the water company’s crisis is to pay out billions of pounds to shareholders, when that money could be going into sorting out what's happening in the water industry”.

Work going on behind the scenes to protect Thames Water customers - minister

More now from the urgent question in the Commons.

Labour's John Cryer points out that Thames Water provides water for a quarter of the entire UK population. He asks what the plan is if Thames Water does go under.

Pow replies that it's for Ofwat to regulate the industry, but there is "work going on behind the scenes with Thames Water to make sure customers will not be impacted".

"There is a process in place if necessary to move us to the next stage", she adds, without giving specifics.

Thames Water says it 'maintains a strong liquidity position'

After some back and forth in the Commons about the financial position of Thames Water, we wanted to bring you some lines from the company itself.

It released a statement earlier this morning - before MPs began debating in the Commons - which said it was working "constructively with its shareholders" in relation to further funding needed for its "turnaround and investment plans".

The statement went on:

Ofwat is being kept fully informed on progress of the company's turnaround and engagement with shareholders.

Thames Water remains focused on delivering for its customers, the environment and stakeholders.

Thames Water continues to maintain a strong liquidity position, including £4.4bn of cash and committed funding, as at 31 March 2023."

Cabinet minister 'very concerned' about Thames Water

Speaking outside the Commons, Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch says she is "very concerned" about the Thames Water situation.

As we've been reporting below, there are reports that the company could be on the brink of collapse. The UK's biggest water firm is under pressure over its performance and is reportedly struggling under £14bn of debt.

Badenoch says the government is "looking at what we can do".

On the possibility of collapse, she says: "Well, I’m very concerned. Obviously this is a commercially sensitive situation and I know that my colleagues across government are looking at what we can do."

"I don’t know too much about what the plans are going to be. I was concerned to hear that the CEO had resigned abruptly.

"But we need to make sure that Thames Water as an entity survives," she added.

Government defends 1989 water industry privatisation

Parliament TV

It's back to Pow, who hits back at McMahon's criticism of Environment Secretary Therese Coffey by saying it's her answering this question because she herself is the water minister.

Responding to some of the issues mentioned, she says debt equity actually fell by 4% in the water sector last year - making it "more resilient".

Since privatisation of the sector - which happened in 1989 - capital investment has been 84% higher than it was pre-privatisation, she says.

Pow refuses to comment on the "individual financial position" of Thames Water and says Ofwat - the independent regulator - is doing that, as it should.

Thames Water is a commercial entity like any water company, she says, and it's for the company and its investors to resolve any issues. The government is confident that Ofwat is "working closely with any company facing financial stress", she adds.

Where is the secretary of state, Labour asks

McMahon now says it is "a concern" that the secretary of state did not proactively make a statement on this issue. "Where is the secretary of state?," he asks. "One of the largest companies in Britain potentially going to go to the wall and she's missing in action," he says.

He says that last year, as "raw human sewage was being pumped out across the country, £1.4bn was paid out to shareholders". But now "leaks are leading to shortages, sewage dumping is polluting our rivers and sea, and the only thing on the up is debt."

He says the Tories are prioritising profit above public interest and says infrastructure meant to serve the nation is being sold off to private enterprise.

McMahon ends with a series of questions for Pow.

He asks when her department was first made aware of the financial situation at Thames Water, whether she had any reason to believe Thames Water wouldn't be able to meet their legal obligations, how much a potential taxpayer-funded bailout would cost and whether this will this affect pension funds that have invested in Thames Water.

Finally, he asks Pow if she has "any concerns about any other water companies".

Government takes water sector resilience very seriously - minister

It's time now for the urgent question we mentioned earlier, asked by Labour's shadow environment secretary Jim McMahon, amid concerns over the potential collapse of Thames Water.

Parliament TV

Environment minister Rebecca Pow answers by saying water is essential to the planet in many ways and that the government is taking significant steps to ensure water companies are "producing the outcomes billpayers expect and deserve".

She goes on, saying regulator Ofwat and the government take the financial resilience of the water sector "very seriously".

Ofwat's latest annual report shows that the sector is financially resilient, she adds.

For its part, Thames Water says it's working to raise the funds it needs to improve the firm.

Labour cannot stand up to union paymasters - Sunak

Shaun Bailey, Conservative MP for West Bromwich, brought up strike action in his constituency and the problems it has caused.

He got quite animated toward the end, asking if the government would join him in asking if Labour will put "people before their paymasters" - asking what Sunak would do to resolve this.

Sunak said the Labour party couldn't stand up to its union paymasters and back the Conservatives' pledge for minimum service and safety levels in critical industries.

For some context - NHS consultants in England voted in favour of strike action over pay on Tuesday, with 86% of British Medical Association members backing action.

Unlike junior doctors at the start of their dispute, consultants are not asking for full pay restoration in one go and instead want the government to start by giving pay rises that match inflation.

No formal pay offer has been made for this year yet.

Focus on absentee schoolchildren

A short time before the end of PMQs, attention in the Commons turned to schooling.

Labour's Ian Mearns MP put the following to the PM: "Last year, 1.7m children missed more than 10% of their schooling, 125,000 children were absent more than they were in school, and a further 140,000 children were missing from formal schooling completely."

Will the PM commit to fixing the "catastrophe", he asked? Mearns also called for legislation to create a national register for children missing from education.

Sunak said he agreed it was a "tragedy" and damaging for educational outcomes. He added that the government had invested £5bn during and after the pandemic to help children catch up with lost learning. He also promised to work with the sector on attendence.

PMQs ends

PMQs has now finished, but stay with us as we catch up on some more of the backbenchers' questions. There's also an urgent question on sewage to come - we'll bring you the latest.

Sunak challenged on water companies' sewage record

City of Chester MP, Labour's Samantha Dixon, asks why it's acceptable for sewage to be pumped into the River Dee that flows through Chester "for the next 27 years".

Sunak says of course it's not acceptable - that's why the government has gone further than any previous one in tackling this issue.

In his answer, he lists monitoring 100% of storm overflows, investing in upgrading infrastructure, enshrining strict targets in law, and unlimited fines for water companies that break the rules on sewage.

When these matters were debated in the Commons, the PM says, Labour didn't even turn up and vote for them.