We are finishing our live coverage of this week's Prime Minister's Questions - thank you for joining us.

The editors were Jamie Whitehead and Jasmine Taylor-Coleman.

The writers were: Nathan Williams, Kate Whannel, Paul Seddon, Ali Abbas Ahmadi, Beth Timmins and Emaan Warraich.

Were prison escapes 10 times worse under Labour?published at 14:12 British Summer Time 13 September 2023

14:12 BST 13 September 2023

The prime minister told MPs: "Prison escapes under the Labour government were almost 10 times higher than under the Conservatives."

Looking at Ministry of Justice figures, external, the number of people who either escaped from prisons or prison escorts in England and Wales has indeed fallen dramatically.

The figures go back as far as the year to the end of March 1996.

In the first two years of the series, which were under a Conservative government, an average of 71 people a year escaped.

Under the Labour governments in the following 13 years the average was 18 a year.

And in the following 12 years under Conservative and Tory-led administrations it was three a year.

So there were about six times more escapes under Labour between 1997 and 2010 than there have been since.

If you look at just escapes from prisons it is nine times as many.

The PM said investigations were under way to make sure lessons were learned from the Daniel Khalife escape so "that it never happens again". Rishi Sunak was challenged by Sir Keir Starmer over why the terror suspect was not in a category A prison.

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Westminster has been agog ever since the revelation that a parliamentary researcher has been arrested under the Official Secrets Act, under suspicion of working as a Chinese agent.

But should parliamentarians have been surprised?

When Ken McCallum, the head of MI5, delivered a speech on the threats to Britain's security last year, external he warned that the Chinese Communist Party is "playing the long game".

Read our analysis here.

Labour has called for a "full audit" of UK-China relations, accusing the prime minister of having no clear strategy.

This follows reports of Chinese spying in Westminster.

Sir Keir Starmer said the government had failed to support its intelligence agencies and was "desperately playing catch-up".

Rishi Sunak said the Labour leader should reflect on his own record backing Jeremy Corbyn and was putting his own interest ahead of Britain’s.

The SNP's Westminster leader said Tories and Labour appeared to have the same pension policy and asked which would be the first major party to ditch it.

Rishi Sunak told Stephen Flynn that his party brought in the triple lock, which guarantees the rate at which the state pensions rise, but declined the "yes or no" question on its future after the general election.

Image source, UK Parliament

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

• Prisons and reform were a prominent feature of the exchanges between Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak, with the Labour leader attacking the government for what he called an ailing prison system
• In the wake of allegations of Chinese spies in parliament, the prime minister defended his government's stance on China, calling it the most robust policy" the UK has had
• The Labour leader criticised the PM's handing of the small boats issue, calling him "inaction man" - a jibe Sunak did not rise to, preferring instead to criticise Labour over its decision to vote against government's plans to scrap water pollution rules
• The pension triple lock was raised by Labour's Ashley Dalton, prompting Sunak to assert that he remains "committed" to the triple lock promise
• Questioned on the environment by Lib Dem Daisy Cooper, the PM said that people should not need to "give up" the things they enjoy - such as flying - to reach net zero targets.
• Raac was also brought up by a couple of MPs including Labour's Ashley Dalton. Sunak assured her that the education department is rapidly inspecting all potentially affected schools, and said he was sorry for disruptions to teachers and students

Big issues rear their heads again as MPs raise Raacpublished at 13:00 British Summer Time 13 September 2023

13:00 BST 13 September 2023

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

There’s a tendency in Westminster to get very excited about the big story of the day but to forget issues which were dominating discussion weeks, days or even hours beforehand.

Keir Starmer tried to tie together various thorny issues for the government into one set of questions this week, rather than simply focusing on China as some might have anticipated.

In the questions that followed the Labour leader, there was a reminder, too, of the big issue from last week, which Starmer only mentioned in passing: concrete.

Labour’s Kate Hollern said that a school in her Blackburn constituency was struggling to get in touch with the government about the possibility it has Raac. Rishi Sunak reassured her the government would work with the school. But it’s a reminder that just because issues drop down the political agenda, it doesn’t always mean they are solved..

Image source, HoC

In case you were wondering why some MPs were wearing wheatsheaf badges - it is to show their support of Back British Farming Day.

The National Farmers' Union says it is a day to celebrate farmers and growers in Britain.

Here's another question about the crumbling concrete crisis that followed a little later.

Labour's Florence Eshalomi raises the possibility of RAAC in military buildings. Eshalomi asks Sunak if he can guarantee the safety of military personnel and equipment or whether this is "another ticking time bomb the government didn't see coming".

Sunak replies that across the public sector, departments follow the technical guidance on Raac and identify and mitigate as required.

And with that we'll leave the questions in the Commons and turn to analysis and dissecting the action.

Let's go back now to Labour's Kate Hollern, who said earlier that a headteacher at a school in her Blackburn constituency was desperately seeking help after a Raac survey was inconclusive.

She says that an urgent inspection that was supposed to follow has not been arranged and that buildings have been closed leading to children having to cram into the dining room. She asks the PM and his ministers to investigate urgently.

Sunak says he is sorry for the disruption and adds that education department is rapidly inspecting all potentially affected schools.

Are there 4,000 extra prison officers?published at 12:48 British Summer Time 13 September 2023

12:48 BST 13 September 2023

Earlier in the debate, the prime minister said: "In last few years [there have been an] extra 4,000 prison officers."

The latest figures for England and Wales , externalfrom the Ministry of Justice show the total number of band 3-5 prison officers (that’s a figure excluding managers and support staff) is 22,426.

That total is 4,000 more than where it was in March 2017 - six years ago.

But it is still almost 2,500 below where it was at the end of March 2010.

Conservative MP Philip Davies says that it is vitally important we "retain, recruit and protect" prison officers. He asks whether the PM will stop any prisoner who assaults an officer from being released early from jail. He also attacks Labour, saying they normally only want those who "misgender people" to be in prison - to laughter from the house.

Sunak responds by saying that prisoners who are violent should face the "full consequences of their actions". He adds that Police, Crimes, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 increased the maximum penalty to two years for those who assault emergency workers - including prison workers.

Labour's Emma Hardy says UK bill payers are facing an extra £1bn on their bills because of the government's failure to secure new offshore wind contracts.

When will the PM take energy security seriously and protects us from the whims of fossil fuel autocrats, she asks.

Sunak says he does take the issue seriously and accuses Labour of wanting to cut off access to homegrown oil and gas, which he says would increase reliance on dictators and be bad for the climate as imported gas increases emissions.

Image source, House of Commons

Michael Fabricant complains about road and footpath closures in Lichfield, saying it's because of HS2. He calls it the most "dysfunctional organisation" he's had to deal with.

Fabricant asks for HS2 to be restructured and in the long-term stopped at the end of phase 1 of the high-speed rail project.

Sunak says he understands the frustrations that HS2 works are causing, and the transport secretary will hold HS2 to account.

Image source, House of Commons

This week's session has now ended but we're continuing to bring you some of the highlights of the debate.

Derek Twigg of the Labour party says there is an increasing number of people dying while waiting on NHS waiting lists for treatment. "Is the PM ashamed that people are dying needlessly on his watch?"

Sunak blames the high waiting lists on the pandemic, and says that the government has put in place record funding to ease the burden on the NHS.

He adds "gently", however, that the waiting lists are not coming down is because of repeated strike action - which he alleges the Labour MP and his colleagues support. Why should patients be deprived of life saving care because of industrial action? he questions, to cheers in the house.

Image source, House of Commons

A little earlier, Conservative Saqib Bhatti says AI will transform humanity and asks if the PM will put in place appropriate guard rails to protect society as the technology becomes more prevalent.

Sunak agrees and says he wants to take a proportionate approach. He adds that he is looking forward to discussing it with global leaders at the upcoming AI summit to be held in the UK.

Image source, House of Commons

Daisy Cooper MP of the Liberal Democrats says Luton airport is massively expanding its capacity, flying in the face of advice from climate advisers. So is the PM going to ignore the advice, she asks?

Sunak responds by saying that getting to net zero shouldn't mean people should give up the things they enjoy doing. The government is investing in new technologies - such as sustainable aviation fuel - to decarbonise the aviation industry, and not force "force people to give everything up".

Labour's Ashley Dalton asks the PM again what his position on the "triple lock" for pensions is. She says the chancellor's advisers say it is not sustainable, but No 10 officials, when asked, say the government is committed to it.

The PM says the government is committed to the triple lock, saying it was "this government that introduced it".

Image source, House of Commons

And now we move to bring you questions from backbenchers. Liberal Democrat Ed Davey says 22,000 people waited more than four months to start treatment for cancer - twice as long as the government's pledge. Can the PM tell those on waiting lists "when will the cancer target be met", he asks?

Sunak replies that the pandemic has had a significant impact on cancer appointments. He says there are hundreds more oncologists working this year compared to last year, adding that cancer treatment is at "record levels" at the moment and that the authorities are making progress at improving it further.