Personal Income

(asked on 12th December 2017) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the cumulative impact assessment of tax, social security and public spending changes between 2010 and 2017 published in November by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.


Answered by
Lord Bates Portrait
Lord Bates
This question was answered on 20th December 2017

The government is committed to building an economy that works for everyone and supporting people with protected characteristics. For example, we have increased the personal allowance and the National Living Wage; by 2018-19, over 700,000 women will be taken out of income tax altogether, and over 60% of those currently benefitting from the National Living Wage are women. The female employment rate is at a joint record high, and the gender pay gap for full-time employees is at a record low. The government is also spending over £50bn per year on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions.

The EHRC analysis ignores the benefits of a strong economy to reducing inequalities, and ignores the benefit of public services like the NHS and social care. It also makes assumptions about income sharing within households, which are poorly evidenced, and may not reflect reality.

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