Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on women of the measures in budgets and spending reviews since May 2010.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
Considering gender and other aspects of equality is an integral part of HM Treasury’s approach to policy work and is conducted on an ongoing basis, including during spending reviews and budgets. This approach reflects the government’s commitment to fairness as well as to our legal obligations.
The Government has taken concrete actions to improve the position of women in the economy. 58 per cent of the 3.4 million individuals lifted out of income tax as a result of this Government’s policies are women. The Government is also providing help with childcare costs, including introducing tax-free childcare. However, as many policies impact on households containing both women and men it is often difficult to isolate the policy effects on women without making arbitrary assumptions about how incomes are shared within households.