Member News
By Baroness Royall of Blaisdon - 6th October 2010
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon writes for ePolitix.com on the impact of spending cuts on women, disabled people and ethnic minorities.
Our concern about the government's expected cuts is clear. We put forward a sensible and prudent plan to tackle the deficit – a plan which would not have threatened economic recovery. We do not believe that the government's plans strike that balance.
We have particular concerns about the impact of the cuts on women, on the disabled, and on ethnic minorities. Our concerns are based not on supposition, but on clear evidence.
Labour looked hard at the proposals in George Osborne's first emergency Budget in June. We found that the Budget's proposals affected women in a hugely disproportionate way. The work was led by our welfare shadow secretary of state, Yvette Cooper. But you don't have to take our word for it. The work was actually carried out for Yvette by the independent House of Commons library. And its findings were chilling.
The gender audit of the Budget found that of the £8bn net revenue to be raised by 2014-15, nearly £6bn would be from women, compared with just over £2bn from men.
That is a very clear indication of the government's priorities. Women are more affected by things like cuts in housing benefit, cuts in upratings to the additional pension and public sector pensions, and women benefit less than men from increases in income tax allowances.
Yvette's study didn't include the impact of the public spending cuts which the government will announce in its comprehensive spending review on October 20. As women make up more of the public sector workforce, they will be more heavily hit by large-scale job losses and a freeze on public sector pay which will flow from the spending review.
Significantly, the Fawcett Society, which campaigns on inequalities, is also concerned about the impact of the government's financial proposals. Indeed, it is seeking to mount a legal challenge to them precisely on the point that, legally, the government should have assessed their effect on women and men.
Given the very clear disproportionate effects of the Budget, and their likely exacerbation by the spending review, our concerns are also apparent. So we do want to know how the government is complying with obligations to make assessments on particular groups. The government may say that all will become clear when it publishes the spending review. Maybe so; but that doesn't mean we won't continue to press them on these issues.
This government claims to be a coalition. But regardless of the two parties in it, this is a Conservative government, pursuing Conservative cuts. We will support them where they are sensible; but where the cuts are ideological, or unfair, or unnecessary, or wrong, we will oppose them – and oppose them with all the vigour we can apply.
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon is shadow leader of the House of Lords
Have your say...
Please enter your comments below.