Harriet Harman and William Hague deputise for the prime minister and the Tory leader today.
11:51am: If Gordon Brown were taking PMQs today, he might have experienced a rare opportunity to bask in glory as his backbenchers queued up to congratulate him on leading the charge in Europe and the US on the bank bail-out rescue package.
His absence due to the EU summit in Brussels will nevertheless avoid him having to face less promising exchanges with opposition parties who accuse him of having previously ignored a succession of warnings about the impact of the housing bubble and ineffective regulation of the City, at what has proved to be the country's peril.
It will be down to Harriet Harman, the deputy Labour leader and leader of the Commons, to field the questions. The bank bail-outs and the impact of the credit crunch on the wider economy are likely to dominate.
With British unemployment posting its biggest rise today since the last recession 17 years ago , MPs from all sides will want to know what is to be done to avert an unemployment boom by Christmas.
MPs are also likely to seek reassurances from Harman that the government will work hard to ensure public bodies, notably councils, and charities that have their investment locked in Icelandic banks recover their money in full.
The grilling is likely to include questions over the decision to scrap Sats tests for 14-year-olds, while keeping in place the two rounds of tests for primary school pupils at age seven and 11.
The Conservatives might even remonstrate that the security minister, Lord West, chose to reveal that security services are investigating another great terrorist plot. Was it wise to make that public?
12:04pm: Harman rises and says a statement to the house will be made by Gordon Brown when he returns from the EU summit.
12:05pm: My colleague Michael White texts from the Commons: "It's Hattie vs Hague . GB is in brussels saving the world. Good joke from labour tough Ronnie campbell about her being in Superman's seat."
12:05pm: Ronald Campbell (Lab, Blyth Valley) asks her what the government can do to help small businesses delivering to the public sector crumbling under the credit crunch?
Harman says the government is trying to make sure the turnaround time to pay them will be speeded up.
Hague raises the latest unemployment figures, published today, which showed a rise of 164,000 in the three months to August to 1.79 million. He asks whether the government is now ready to reform insolvency laws, to help businesses at such a critical time, to avoid further rises in the jobless numbers.
12:07pm: Mike texts: "Grim day as jobless totals rise , says sombre Hague. Will ministers reform bankruptcy laws? Done that- we are now speeding up mortgage help."
Harman says the government is announcing £100m extra to help people who lose their jobs to help them to retrain to fill the 600,000 vacant jobs in the economy.
Also, there will be extra help for people thrown on to the dole who have mortgages to pay. They will be helped to pay their mortgages after 13 weeks.
Hague retorts that there is an expectation that unemployment is forecast to rise to 3 million by 2010. He says the money she cites has already been allocated to the skills budget and already announced. Why not adopt Tory proposals to resolve insolvency laws to prevent thousands of jobs going under, he asks.
Harman fires back that there is no complacency from government over the threats to the economy, but hang on there, why write the economy off?
12:09pm: We're trying to stabilise the economy, both nationally and internationally, which is why the PM isn't here today.
Hague says if she won't take the measures on insolvency that the Tories propose, what about pensioners locked into a lower pensions annuity as a result of the credit crunch? Will the government suspend the rules necessary to ensure these people do not suffer?
12:10pm: Harman says the shock to businesses and the workplace has been sudden. We're helping pensioners with an increased fuel allowance, she says. The problem Hague raises affects some people and it is a concern, she says.
12:11pm: So will the government suspend the rule which stipulates pensioners have to opt for their annuity within a given timeframe, given the times we are in, asks Hague.
12:12pm: Mike texts: "Complacent, says William. In Feb her blog said people would not dear for their jobs in 08. Why not also suspend annuity rule at 75? Ministers looking at that one, says Hattie. Act today, says Bill."
12:12pm: Harman says everyone is affected by this credit crunch and doesn't really take on board Hague's recommendation to suspend the rules.
It's all very well being concerned and talking, but what about action, aks Hague.
He then asks about the claim that the bail-out of banks will retain lending at 2007 levels. What exactly is the policy of government on the lending
of the banks? He's unclear.
12:13pm: Mike texts: "We will take all necessary action, says Hat. All talk, says Bill. But isn't PM's questions meant to be talk?"
Harman says now that there is extra liquidity available in the system, and, having bought shares, the banks can't just sit on the capital, they have to lend. What would be the point of what the government has done otherwise?
12:14pm: "We want to re-establish credit lines to individual and small businesses," she says. She says all the measures the government took on Monday were backed by the Conservatives. So why isn't Hague backing the means to get to those ends?
12:15pm: Yes but, says Hague, it seems rather a lot of countries are "better prepared" than we are to weather the economic downturn. "The claim [by Brown] to have abolished boom and bust was one of the most foolish, one of the most irresponsible claims ever made by a prime minister," says Hague to Tory cheers.
12:16pm: Harman urges Hague not to write Britain off or compare it unfavourable to other countries. Brown is not only working to sort things out nationally, but internationally. "He's a man with a plan," she says,
seizing the words of David Cameron in describing himself to the Tory party conference two weeks ago.
12:16pm: Mike texts: "HH defends public spending since 97. Bill says GB's claim to have abolished boom and bust was among the most reckless ever. Tory cheer. A good shot, his first."
Vincent Cable, the Lib Dems' deputy leader, asks how prepared the government is for massive job losses, given the cull of staff in jobcentres up and down the country?
12:18pm: What about the 13-week wait before someone who loses their job gets help with their mortgage? Support should come much earlier than that, he says.
12:18pm: Harman says there are "improved and increased" services to support people who lose their jobs, not just in Jobcentre Plus but also in supporting services in the private and voluntary sector.
12:19pm: Cable says in light of the "very real emergency", what's with the absurd monastic silence on interest rates? Everyone is clamouring for a cut to avoid a deep slump in the economy, he says.
12:19pm: Mike texts: "Three brains Vince Cable asks if ministers can cope with jobless when they have sacked staff ? Plenty of jobs out there says HH."
12:20pm: Harman says the focus has been to stabilise the banking system, to allow lending to small businesses to continue, and thereby help restore the economy. There was an interest rate cut last week, in coordination with other central banks across Europe, she adds.
Charlotte Atkins (Lab, Staffordshire Moorlands) want to know what help charities who have their money locked in Icelandic banks will get from the government?
12:21pm: Mike texts: "Why not tell Bank to cut interest rates in this emergency, Vince counters. A rare case of Vince missing the point of Bank independence?"
12:22pm: Harman tells Atkins that small charities will get 100% protection, while larger charities will be helped by the move to freeze the banks' assets, and talks with Reykjavik are ongoing.
Lindsay Hoyle (Lab, Chorley) raises the thorny issue of rising fuel bills. Are we going to sit down with greedy energy companies with their huge fat earnings and see what we can do to bring those fuel bills down for ordinary people?
12:23pm: Hoyle is right, says Harman, we do need to take action. We've done that, she says, outlining the measures already announced last month. And yes, energy companies need to play their part too to help people with fuel bills during this difficult time.
12:24pm: Mike texts: "A very subdued event.. All Mps on best behaviour. Winter fuel fears for the poor, asks one. HH has done masses of homework."
12:25pm: Crispin Blunt (Con, Reigate) wants to know what the government is going to do about Equitable Life. Harman says it's a bit much to ask the government to be solely responsible for a crisis that is global in scale.
12:26pm: Mike texts: "Ah. A ray of sunshine, labour question about outer space. Just what crisis needs!"
12:26pm: Mike again: "Tory mps seek to blame GB for banking shambles, but it is heavy going."
12:27pm: On to the "uncertain future" faced by Bradford & Bingley. Philip Davies (Con, Shipley) asks the government whether it's prepared to take responsibility for the crisis, given the way it encouraged people to buy their homes. Harman reiterates that the source of this credit crunch is global, not down to government trying to support people owning their own homes.
12:29pm: Looking smart in a pinstripe jacket that brings to mind the image of a City banker, Harman fields yet another question on the economy. Gregory Campbell (DUP, Londonderry) complains that measures to help residents in Northern Ireland cope with the impact of the credit crunch are being "blocked" by Sinn Féin. Harman says briefly that the situation of Northern Ireland is "very much in the government's mind".
Clive Efford (Lab, Eltham) wants reassurance that helping the "masters of the universe" will not be at the expense of frontline public services? Harman reassures him.
12:31pm: Mike: "Ulster MPs lash Sinn Fein in stormont stalemate. Another metaphorical ticking time bomb."
12:31pm: Albert Owen (Lab, Ynys Mon) points out that electricity prices are four times higher here than in France. He wants to see the lifespan of nuclear generators expanded to increase capacity and reduce the bill burden on business. Harman says the government plans to invest in nuclear and in renewables.
12:32pm: Mike texts: "Plaid's clever Adam Price asks for Iraq style apology for bank crisis. Does not get one."
12:32pm: Is the government still committed to eradicating child poverty by 2020, asks Tom Levitt (Lab, High Peak). Yes, still committed, says Harman, and she says she hopes all parties are committed to taking the steps necessary to achieve it.
12:33pm: The questions are over. But the seriousness of the economic climate meant that even the notoriously witty William Hague left all traces of humour at the door.
12:34pm: Mike's verdict: "Harman 6 out of 10 for all that homework. Hague 3 out of 10. No impact in tricky situation."
