Oral Answers to Questions

Rachel Reeves Excerpts

Thursday 22nd July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Nia Griffith (Llanelli) (Lab)]

2. Whether an equality impact assessment has been undertaken on the proposals in the June 2010 Budget.

[Rachel Reeves (Leeds West) (Lab)]

5. What assessment the Government Equalities Office has undertaken of the relative effects of the June 2010 Budget on men and on women.

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department and Minister for Women and Equalities (Mrs Theresa May)]

We have had to take tough decisions to reduce the deficit and secure the economic recovery essential to maintaining the living standards of women and families in this country in the longer term. The June Budget does that fairly, with a focus on protecting the most vulnerable in society, including low-income families. Assessing policy options in the light of tough financial constraints is not a one-off but an ongoing process. My officials are working with and talking to Departments about how to take account of equality considerations as they develop and implement the policies that will achieve budget reductions—budget reductions made necessary, I would remind the hon. Member for Llanelli (Nia Griffith), by Labour’s mismanagement of the economy.

[Mrs May]

I think that the hon. Lady is referring to some research that the right hon. Member for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper) has undertaken. That research is partial in its assessment, because it fails to take into account a whole host of issues in the Budget, including the council tax freeze. The hon. Lady should also recognise the steps that we took in the Budget to protect people on low incomes. They include the exemption from the public sector workers’ freeze—lower-paid public sector workers are predominantly women, and they will be exempt from that pay freeze. We are also working to freeze the basic rate of income tax, to increase the personal allowance, and to remove 880,000 people from income tax altogether, the majority of whom will be women. We are very conscious of the need to look at the impact of the Budget, but I suggest that the hon. Lady needs to look at the good things in it that will help people on low incomes.

[Rachel Reeves]

Mums, children, and women in retirement will contribute twice as much to bringing down the Budget deficit as the predominantly suited men in the square mile will pay through the banking levy. Given that the Government are so keen to stress their family-friendly credentials, does the right hon. Lady feel that that balance is fair?

[Mrs May]

The hon. Lady referred to people in retirement; I would simply remind her that it is this Government who are going to restore the earnings link for pensions. Her Government had 13 years in which to do that, but they failed to do it.