That's it from us for now, but if you want to read more about the row over private school tax breaks - you can read it here.
Today's coverage was brought to you by George Wright, Aoife Walsh, Sarah Fowler, Chas Geiger, Richard Morris, James Harness, Gem O'Reilly.
It was edited by Chris Giles and Jasmine Taylor-Coleman.
Quick recap of today's PMQs
We're bringing this page to a close, but before we go here's a quick recap of what happened in today's exchanges:
The PM and Labour leader battled over the issue of tax breaks for private schools, with Keir Starmer demanding an end to "handouts" while Sunak accused him of "attacking the hardworking aspiration of millions"
Starmer asked why Tory backbenchers were blocking new housebuilding and Sunak countered that he was delivering record numbers of new homes
SNP leader in Westminster Ian Blackford hit out at Brexit, and called on the PM to "admit that it's a significant long-term cause of the UK economic crisis"
Why wasn't PM wearing a ribbon marking World Aids Day?
Jonathan Blake
BBC political correspondent
PA MediaCopyright: PA Media
The prime minister was one of the few MPs not to be wearing a red ribbon marking World Aids Day in the commons today.
Asked why he chose not to, Rishi Sunak's press secretary said he did not wear things on his lapels "as a principle" and chose to "show his support in different ways".
However some have pointed to photos of him wearing a ribbon, and other symbols, in previous years.
Private school tax breaks a question of political priorities - Labour
Earlier during PMQs we heard Keir Starmer call for an end to "handouts" for private schools, hitting out at the charitable status that allows private schools to avoid paying some taxes.
In response, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the government was improving school standards for every pupil, and under the Conservatives "almost 90% of schools are good or outstanding".
We've since heard from shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson, who says that Labour’s position is that it is “wrong and unjustifiable” that private schools “enjoy tax breaks” when state schools are under pressure.
The party claims its policy of scrapping the charitable status tax break for private schools would raise £1.76 billion. Phillipson says the funds could be invested in putting more teachers in state school classrooms and mental health support for pupils.
“This is just a question of political priorities,” Phillipson tells BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme.
“I think it tells you everything you need to know about Rishi Sunak and the chancellor that they are not prepared to stand up to the vested interests, to take on the private school lobbyists, and make clear that this is a simple question of fairness.”
Video caption: PMQs: Starmer and Sunak on money for private school fundingPMQs: Starmer and Sunak on money for private school funding
If you missed it, here's one of the main exchanges from PMQs earlier on private school funding, where the Labour leader took aim at the PM's education and Rishi Sunak accused him of attacking aspirational parents.
Government pressed on support payments for energy bills in Northern Ireland
In the last little while there has also been an Urgent Question in the Commons on help with energy bills in Northern Ireland - from the DUP's Carla Lockhart.
She asks why people in Northern Ireland are waiting for crucial financial help with their energy bills as the weather gets colder, and when "hard-pressed families" will get a payment that was promised in November.
Energy Minister Graham Stuart says energy is a devolved matter and the Stormont government should be dealing with this issue. However, the devolved executive at Stormont has not functioned since February, and Stuart says ministers in his department are having to take on their work.
He says every household in Northern Ireland will receive £400 this winter - in January, he hopes - plus an alternative fuel payment of £200 because of the widespread use of heating oil.
He adds that everyone in Northern Ireland will also benefit from the UK-wide energy price guarantee.
No-one wants 'poisoned chalice' of ministerial standards role - Rayner
Rayner has criticised the time taken to appoint a new adviser on ministers' behaviour. She says despite allegations of bullying and security breaches, it's clear that ethics are still not a priority for the government.
Apparently, she says, no one will accept "this poisoned chalice". How many people have applied for the independent adviser job? she asks.
Burghart says the PM has been in office for 31 days and there will be an independent adviser appointed "very soon".
Rayner asks Urgent Question about ministerial standards
While we've been looking back at PMQs, Labour's Angela Rayner has been asking an urgent question in the House of Commons.
She asked the government about progress on the appointment of an independent adviser on ministerial interests - who advises the PM on the code governing ministers' behaviour - and generally on enforcement of the ministerial code.
Cabinet Office Minister Alex Burghart said the government had not yet appointed a new adviser, and the process was ongoing so it would be inappropriate for him to speak about an active recruitments process.
He said a senior lawyer called a Kings Counsel had been appointed to investigate formal complaints of bullying made against the Deputy Prime Minister, Dominic Raab.
Private schools row dominates PMQs
If you’re just joining, today’s main exchanges between Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak focused on housebuilding and whether private school should have to pay VAT on school fees. Here's what you need to know:
The Labour leader attacked the charitable status that private schools enjoy, calling for an end to “handouts”. PM Rishi Sunak defended the Conservatives’ schools policy, saying standards were improving for all pupils - and accused Starmer of attacking aspiration
Pushed by Starmer over why Tory backbenchers are blocking new housebuilding by opposing reform, Sunak said his government was delivering record numbers of new homes
Ian Blackford, SNP leader in Westminster, pressed the prime minister on Brexit, saying more than 70% of voters were turning against it in Scotland. In response, Sunak said he accepted the results of referendums and highlighted the UK’s vaccination programme which he said was the fastest in the world “because of freedoms outside the EU”
Sunak was also asked by Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald why he did not give into the “reasonable demands” of nurses and other public sector workers going on strike - to which the PM said it was unreasonable and unaffordable to have a 19% pay rise
Missed PMQs? Watch Sunak and Starmer battle it out, in full
Video content
Video caption: PMQs: Watch Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer's exchange in fullPMQs: Watch Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer's exchange in full
Analysis
Starmer increasingly confident but Sunak up for a fight
Nick Eardley
Chief political correspondent
Today tells us a
bit about where Westminster politics sits at the moment.
Keir Starmer is
feeling more confident. He wants to take on some of the criticism he is getting - on his policy to charge private schools VAT for instance - and mock the government about splits over issues like
housebuilding.
There is a general
feeling in Labour ranks that they can win the next election. A lot of what we heard from Starmer just now was about preparing the ground for an election
campaign (probably a couple of years away).
But Rishi Sunak is
up for a fight. These PMQs exchanges in recent weeks have been pretty scrappy. Sunak wants to persuade the electorate that Starmer is too close to the
unions and isn’t in control of his party when it comes to strikes and other
issues.
You can expect to
hear more of this at noon on a Wednesday in the months to come.
Does PM really care about net zero targets?
The final question comes from Alan Brown, SNP MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, who says pumped storage hydropower schemes have been blocked in Scotland because the UK government won't discuss a pricing mechanism.
He asks - if the PM really does care about net zero commitments and Scottish jobs, will he take action to advance pumped storage hydropower?
Sunak says not only is the government supporting new technologies that will help the UK get to net zero and create jobs in Scotland, it is also supporting the UK's transition, which will be good for the Scottish economy and jobs.
Paul Bristow, Conservative MP for Peterborough, next asks Sunak whether he's going to stop the number of people crossing the Channel and the number of migrants in UK hotels, calling it a "national emergency".
He calls for Cobra-style committee led by No 10 to "tackle the crisis".
Sunak says he shares his frustrations and will do "whatever it takes" to reduce number of illegal crossings.
"This is fundamentally about our sovereignty and proper control of our borders," he adds.
Analysis
Starmer leans into private schools' row
Chris Mason
Political editor
Two days in a row this week, the Daily Mail has been gunning
for Labour on the issue of private schools and Keir Starmer’s policy that
their charitable status should be removed - meaning VAT would be payable on
school fees.
So it is interesting that Sir Keir has decided to lean into
it at PMQs, rather than talk about something else – and highlight it as a dividing line
with the Conservative Party.
And it is interesting too that the prime minister uses the
language of “aspiration” to champion his perspective that the current
arrangement is justified and in the interests of parents and pupils in both the
private and state sectors.
The big picture strategy from the Labour Party is to try
to portray Rishi Sunak as weak and beholden to his backbenchers.
Hence Sir Keir’s offer to back the government’s plan - which Sunak avoided mentioning - to maintain housebuilding targets
in England, which some Tory backbenchers want rid of.
The Conservative parliamentary party is relieved that Sunak has brought stability - it being better than the alternative of perpetual
meltdown.
But the PM's challenge heading into 2023 will be
how much he can actually get done.
Sunak says postal workers' pay demands unaffordable
Labour's Catherine West says Royal Mail paid record sums to shareholders last year, but is now planning to cut 10,000 jobs while threatening the future of the minimum six-days-a-week letter delivery service. Why won’t the government investigate the "mismanagement of this iconic service"?
Sunak praises the "hard work" of postal workers. But their strikes are wrong and their pay demands unaffordable, he adds.
Lib Dem MP: Let's act on Rashford's free school meals call
Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson says members of the Conservative Party should get a sense of deja-vu after watching England v Wales last night because they know "what it's like to have Marcus Rashford run rings around them".
She points out that off the pitch, Rashford has been a tireless campaigner against child hunger. She asks for free school meals for every child living in poverty.
Sunak says the government is giving two million children free school meals, and the government invested "hundreds of millions of pounds" last year in school activities and food programmes.
BBCCopyright: BBC
Analysis
Strikes are a headache for government
Nick Eardley
Chief political correspondent
One of the biggest headaches the government
is facing is strikes.
We are seeing more and more announced every
week.
Today, it's ambulance staff. There are other
NHS staff planning strike action.
The prime minister was urged by Labour's
Andy MacDonald to pay workers what they are demanding to stop the strikes happening.
But the prime minister isn't budging. He is
adamant that union requests are both unaffordable and unreasonable.
These
rows are going to be difficult to resolve given the two entrenched positions.
PM says there is a plan to improve train services
Conservative former cabinet minister Esther McVey highlights the state of Avanti Trains' services on the west coast main line, calling them "completely unacceptable".
Sunak agrees and says the Transport Secretary Mark Harper is holding Avanti Trains to account. The PM says there is a plan to increase trains and restore the full service between Manchester and London - if the trade unions co-operate.
PM 'sits on personal fortune while refusing nurses' pay demands'
Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald says while the PM "sits on a personal fortune" he is "refusing the reasonable demands" of nurses, railway workers and many others "forced to take industrial action just to make ends meet".
McDonald asks why the PM doesn't give them the wage increases they need, and fund it by making the rich pay the same rate on unearned income as workers have to pay for their hard graft.
He also asks why the PM does not scrap the "non-dom tax loophole he's all too familiar with".
The PM says he has nothing but admiration and gratitude for nurses and the work they do, but it is unreasonable and unaffordable to have a 19% pay rise.
Sunak adds that if he McDonagh really wants to support working people he should get off the picket line and end the strikes.
BBCCopyright: BBC
Sunak vows to stop people smugglers
Gordon Henderson, Conservative MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey, asks when the government will bring forward emergency legisaltion to "deport migrants coming across the Channel illegally" who are then "being put up in hotels".
Sunak says he is "determined to do whatever it takes to break the businesses model of people smugglers who are causing the needless loss of lives... and putting unsustainable pressure on our asylum system".
He cites the Nationality and Border Act, saying it "gives us new powers we fully intend to use".
Live Reporting
Edited by Chris Giles
All times stated are UK
-
The PM and Labour leader battled over the issue of tax breaks for private schools, with Keir Starmer demanding an end to "handouts" while Sunak accused him of "attacking the hardworking aspiration of millions"
-
Starmer asked why Tory backbenchers were blocking new housebuilding and Sunak countered that he was delivering record numbers of new homes
-
SNP leader in Westminster Ian Blackford hit out at Brexit, and called on the PM to "admit that it's a significant long-term cause of the UK economic crisis"
PA MediaCopyright: PA Media View more on twitterView more on twitter Video caption: PMQs: Starmer and Sunak on money for private school fundingPMQs: Starmer and Sunak on money for private school funding -
The Labour leader attacked the charitable status that private schools enjoy, calling for an end to “handouts”. PM Rishi Sunak defended the Conservatives’ schools policy, saying standards were improving for all pupils - and accused Starmer of attacking aspiration
-
Pushed by Starmer over why Tory backbenchers are blocking new housebuilding by opposing reform, Sunak said his government was delivering record numbers of new homes
-
Ian Blackford, SNP leader in Westminster, pressed the prime minister on Brexit, saying more than 70% of voters were turning against it in Scotland. In response, Sunak said he accepted the results of referendums and highlighted the UK’s vaccination programme which he said was the fastest in the world “because of freedoms outside the EU”
-
Sunak was also asked by Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald why he did not give into the “reasonable demands” of nurses and other public sector workers going on strike - to which the PM said it was unreasonable and unaffordable to have a 19% pay rise
Video caption: PMQs: Watch Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer's exchange in fullPMQs: Watch Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer's exchange in full Analysis
Analysis
BBCCopyright: BBC Analysis
BBCCopyright: BBC
Latest PostThanks for joining us
That's it from us for now, but if you want to read more about the row over private school tax breaks - you can read it here.
Today's coverage was brought to you by George Wright, Aoife Walsh, Sarah Fowler, Chas Geiger, Richard Morris, James Harness, Gem O'Reilly.
It was edited by Chris Giles and Jasmine Taylor-Coleman.
Quick recap of today's PMQs
We're bringing this page to a close, but before we go here's a quick recap of what happened in today's exchanges:
Why wasn't PM wearing a ribbon marking World Aids Day?
Jonathan Blake
BBC political correspondent
The prime minister was one of the few MPs not to be wearing a red ribbon marking World Aids Day in the commons today.
Asked why he chose not to, Rishi Sunak's press secretary said he did not wear things on his lapels "as a principle" and chose to "show his support in different ways".
However some have pointed to photos of him wearing a ribbon, and other symbols, in previous years.
Private school tax breaks a question of political priorities - Labour
Earlier during PMQs we heard Keir Starmer call for an end to "handouts" for private schools, hitting out at the charitable status that allows private schools to avoid paying some taxes.
In response, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the government was improving school standards for every pupil, and under the Conservatives "almost 90% of schools are good or outstanding".
We've since heard from shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson, who says that Labour’s position is that it is “wrong and unjustifiable” that private schools “enjoy tax breaks” when state schools are under pressure.
The party claims its policy of scrapping the charitable status tax break for private schools would raise £1.76 billion. Phillipson says the funds could be invested in putting more teachers in state school classrooms and mental health support for pupils.
“This is just a question of political priorities,” Phillipson tells BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme.
“I think it tells you everything you need to know about Rishi Sunak and the chancellor that they are not prepared to stand up to the vested interests, to take on the private school lobbyists, and make clear that this is a simple question of fairness.”
WATCH: Starmer criticises private schools 'handouts'
Video content
If you missed it, here's one of the main exchanges from PMQs earlier on private school funding, where the Labour leader took aim at the PM's education and Rishi Sunak accused him of attacking aspirational parents.
Government pressed on support payments for energy bills in Northern Ireland
In the last little while there has also been an Urgent Question in the Commons on help with energy bills in Northern Ireland - from the DUP's Carla Lockhart.
She asks why people in Northern Ireland are waiting for crucial financial help with their energy bills as the weather gets colder, and when "hard-pressed families" will get a payment that was promised in November.
Energy Minister Graham Stuart says energy is a devolved matter and the Stormont government should be dealing with this issue. However, the devolved executive at Stormont has not functioned since February, and Stuart says ministers in his department are having to take on their work.
He says every household in Northern Ireland will receive £400 this winter - in January, he hopes - plus an alternative fuel payment of £200 because of the widespread use of heating oil.
He adds that everyone in Northern Ireland will also benefit from the UK-wide energy price guarantee.
Read more: Could a sitting Stormont help with energy bills?
No-one wants 'poisoned chalice' of ministerial standards role - Rayner
Rayner has criticised the time taken to appoint a new adviser on ministers' behaviour. She says despite allegations of bullying and security breaches, it's clear that ethics are still not a priority for the government.
Apparently, she says, no one will accept "this poisoned chalice". How many people have applied for the independent adviser job? she asks.
Burghart says the PM has been in office for 31 days and there will be an independent adviser appointed "very soon".
Rayner asks Urgent Question about ministerial standards
While we've been looking back at PMQs, Labour's Angela Rayner has been asking an urgent question in the House of Commons.
She asked the government about progress on the appointment of an independent adviser on ministerial interests - who advises the PM on the code governing ministers' behaviour - and generally on enforcement of the ministerial code.
Cabinet Office Minister Alex Burghart said the government had not yet appointed a new adviser, and the process was ongoing so it would be inappropriate for him to speak about an active recruitments process.
He said a senior lawyer called a Kings Counsel had been appointed to investigate formal complaints of bullying made against the Deputy Prime Minister, Dominic Raab.
Private schools row dominates PMQs
If you’re just joining, today’s main exchanges between Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak focused on housebuilding and whether private school should have to pay VAT on school fees. Here's what you need to know:
Missed PMQs? Watch Sunak and Starmer battle it out, in full
Video content
Starmer increasingly confident but Sunak up for a fight
Nick Eardley
Chief political correspondent
Today tells us a bit about where Westminster politics sits at the moment.
Keir Starmer is feeling more confident. He wants to take on some of the criticism he is getting - on his policy to charge private schools VAT for instance - and mock the government about splits over issues like housebuilding.
There is a general feeling in Labour ranks that they can win the next election. A lot of what we heard from Starmer just now was about preparing the ground for an election campaign (probably a couple of years away).
But Rishi Sunak is up for a fight. These PMQs exchanges in recent weeks have been pretty scrappy. Sunak wants to persuade the electorate that Starmer is too close to the unions and isn’t in control of his party when it comes to strikes and other issues.
You can expect to hear more of this at noon on a Wednesday in the months to come.
Does PM really care about net zero targets?
The final question comes from Alan Brown, SNP MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, who says pumped storage hydropower schemes have been blocked in Scotland because the UK government won't discuss a pricing mechanism.
He asks - if the PM really does care about net zero commitments and Scottish jobs, will he take action to advance pumped storage hydropower?
Sunak says not only is the government supporting new technologies that will help the UK get to net zero and create jobs in Scotland, it is also supporting the UK's transition, which will be good for the Scottish economy and jobs.
Read more on net zero, what it means and what progress is being made here.
Illegal crossings an issue of sovereignty - Sunak
Paul Bristow, Conservative MP for Peterborough, next asks Sunak whether he's going to stop the number of people crossing the Channel and the number of migrants in UK hotels, calling it a "national emergency".
He calls for Cobra-style committee led by No 10 to "tackle the crisis".
Sunak says he shares his frustrations and will do "whatever it takes" to reduce number of illegal crossings.
"This is fundamentally about our sovereignty and proper control of our borders," he adds.
Starmer leans into private schools' row
Chris Mason
Political editor
Two days in a row this week, the Daily Mail has been gunning for Labour on the issue of private schools and Keir Starmer’s policy that their charitable status should be removed - meaning VAT would be payable on school fees.
So it is interesting that Sir Keir has decided to lean into it at PMQs, rather than talk about something else – and highlight it as a dividing line with the Conservative Party.
And it is interesting too that the prime minister uses the language of “aspiration” to champion his perspective that the current arrangement is justified and in the interests of parents and pupils in both the private and state sectors.
The big picture strategy from the Labour Party is to try to portray Rishi Sunak as weak and beholden to his backbenchers.
Hence Sir Keir’s offer to back the government’s plan - which Sunak avoided mentioning - to maintain housebuilding targets in England, which some Tory backbenchers want rid of.
The Conservative parliamentary party is relieved that Sunak has brought stability - it being better than the alternative of perpetual meltdown.
But the PM's challenge heading into 2023 will be how much he can actually get done.
Sunak says postal workers' pay demands unaffordable
Labour's Catherine West says Royal Mail paid record sums to shareholders last year, but is now planning to cut 10,000 jobs while threatening the future of the minimum six-days-a-week letter delivery service. Why won’t the government investigate the "mismanagement of this iconic service"?
Sunak praises the "hard work" of postal workers. But their strikes are wrong and their pay demands unaffordable, he adds.
Lib Dem MP: Let's act on Rashford's free school meals call
Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson says members of the Conservative Party should get a sense of deja-vu after watching England v Wales last night because they know "what it's like to have Marcus Rashford run rings around them".
She points out that off the pitch, Rashford has been a tireless campaigner against child hunger. She asks for free school meals for every child living in poverty.
Sunak says the government is giving two million children free school meals, and the government invested "hundreds of millions of pounds" last year in school activities and food programmes.
Strikes are a headache for government
Nick Eardley
Chief political correspondent
One of the biggest headaches the government is facing is strikes.
We are seeing more and more announced every week.
Today, it's ambulance staff. There are other NHS staff planning strike action.
The prime minister was urged by Labour's Andy MacDonald to pay workers what they are demanding to stop the strikes happening.
But the prime minister isn't budging. He is adamant that union requests are both unaffordable and unreasonable.
These rows are going to be difficult to resolve given the two entrenched positions.
PM says there is a plan to improve train services
Conservative former cabinet minister Esther McVey highlights the state of Avanti Trains' services on the west coast main line, calling them "completely unacceptable".
Sunak agrees and says the Transport Secretary Mark Harper is holding Avanti Trains to account. The PM says there is a plan to increase trains and restore the full service between Manchester and London - if the trade unions co-operate.
PM 'sits on personal fortune while refusing nurses' pay demands'
Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald says while the PM "sits on a personal fortune" he is "refusing the reasonable demands" of nurses, railway workers and many others "forced to take industrial action just to make ends meet".
McDonald asks why the PM doesn't give them the wage increases they need, and fund it by making the rich pay the same rate on unearned income as workers have to pay for their hard graft.
He also asks why the PM does not scrap the "non-dom tax loophole he's all too familiar with".
The PM says he has nothing but admiration and gratitude for nurses and the work they do, but it is unreasonable and unaffordable to have a 19% pay rise.
Sunak adds that if he McDonagh really wants to support working people he should get off the picket line and end the strikes.
Sunak vows to stop people smugglers
Gordon Henderson, Conservative MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey, asks when the government will bring forward emergency legisaltion to "deport migrants coming across the Channel illegally" who are then "being put up in hotels".
Sunak says he is "determined to do whatever it takes to break the businesses model of people smugglers who are causing the needless loss of lives... and putting unsustainable pressure on our asylum system".
He cites the Nationality and Border Act, saying it "gives us new powers we fully intend to use".