labourpress:

Sarah Champion MP Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, commenting on research released today by the Women’s Budget Group, showing that tax and benefit changes since 2010 will have hit women’s incomes twice as hard as men by 2020, said:

“The Tories are turning back the clock on economic equality for women.

“Last year the Government voted down Labour proposals to conduct a full cumulative impact assessment of their policies on women and since then the Treasury have refused to appear in front of the Women and Equalities Select Committee to give evidence on how the equalities impact analysis was conducted for the 2015 spending review.

“Not only is the Government lacking transparency in this area, they are now being deliberately and willfully evasive.

“Labour will not let the Tories off lightly with their warm words of equality and fairness when their policies systematically embed the very unfairness they say to want to tackle.

“Labour today renews our call on the government to urgently conduct and publish a cumulative impact assessment of its policies on women, minorities and disabled people as well as a full and proper analysis to accompany the upcoming Autumn Statement.”

Ends

Notes to editors

Women will be £1,003 a year worse off by 2020 on average while for men this figure is £555.

The research findings come just days after a report from the Women and Equalities Select Committee that called for an independent inquiry into why the Government has not published an analysis of how its spending plans will affect women, minorities and disabled people.