Women’s equality in the UK – A health check

13.15
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who earn too little to pay tax, 73% of whom are women; 20 many of them are also heads of
households and with ‘protected characteristics’, such as ethnic minorities, disabled women,
older women, etc.
The cut to the childcare element of WTC will hit parents in paid work. Currently 493,000 families
benefit, receiving an average of £69 per week. In April 2011, a 10% cut was made to the level of
childcare costs that the WTC covers. Evidence is emerging that this change is having a marked
impact on the ability of mothers to combine work and childcare and a survey has found that
24% of mothers have had to give up work as a result of the changes. 21 (See Appendix: 18) Given
that they are the majority of recipients, this change will hit single parents - the vast majority of
whom are women – harder, which has been acknowledged by the Treasury. Although childcare
should be seen as an issue for all working parents, in practice women are more likely to be
second earners in couples and the cost and availability of childcare has a much bigger impact
on their ability to stay in work. 22 Research by workingmums.co.uk suggested that a quarter of
women had left work because of the rising cost of childcare. 23 (See Article 11)
Case Study: 24
Beatriz is from Colombia and is also a British citizen. She is a single mother and lives with
her two children. She earns the minimum wage and struggles to cover her bills. As a result
of the cuts in the level of childcare cost, Beatriz has been forced to reduce her working
hours. She has often been forced to leave her young child being cared for by her eldest
child as she has no other option if they want to survive.
It is still the case that the poorest pay more of their incomes in tax than the richest 25 and despite
pleading necessity for cuts to social welfare, the Government felt able to give away potential tax
revenue by reducing corporation tax to 25%, extending rate relief for businesses until April 2013
and granting 50% tax relief on business start ups. 26 The Chancellor’s fuel tax giveaway, which
cost the Government £1,900m in 2011/12, benefitted childless couples and single men the most,
and lone mothers and single female pensioners the least. 27
Recommendations:
• Protect the social safety-net, by giving Local Authorities in England and Wales
sufficient resources to maintain existing levels of Council Tax Benefit; monitoring
the effect of the Housing Benefit and overall benefit caps; reversing the switch
from RPI to CPI inflation for benefit uprating; maintaining real Child Benefit levels;
and reversing cuts to childcare support
• Move towards a fairer tax system by clamping down on tax avoidance
20. Women’s Budget Group (2012) The Impact on Women of the Autumn Financial Statement 2011. WBG: London http://wbg.org.uk/pdfs/The-
Impact-on-Women-of-the-AFS-2011.pdf
21. Working Mums 2011) ‘Mums forced to quit work due to tax credit cuts – survey’, Working Mums website, 18th May 2011 http://www.
workingmums.co.uk/working-mums-magazine/news/2574511/mums-forced-to-quit-work-due-to-tax-credit-cuts-survey.thtml
22. Work and Pensions Committee (2010) White Paper on Universal Credit, written evidence submitted by Women’s Budget Group http://
www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmselect/cmworpen/743/743we43.htm
23. Beattie, J. (2011) ‘One in four women forced to give up work as childcare cuts bite’, The Daily Mirror Online, 16th August 2011 http://www.
mirror.co.uk/news/politics/2011/08/16/one-in-four-women-forced-to-give-up-work-as-childcare-cuts-bite-115875-23347671/
24. Latin American Women’s Rights Service http://www.lawrs.org.uk/ Accessed: 22/03/13
25. Office for National Statistics (2011) The Effects of Taxes and Benefits on Household Income 2009/10. ONS: London http://www.ons.gov.uk/
ons/rel/household-income/the-effects-of-taxes-and-benefits-on-household-income/2009-2010/index.html
26. Women’s Budget Group (2012) The Impact on Women of the Autumn Financial Statement 2011. WBG: London http://wbg.org.uk/pdfs/The-
Impact-on-Women-of-the-AFS-2011.pdf
27. Women’s Budget Group (2012) The Impact on Women of the Autumn Financial Statement 2011. WBG: London http://wbg.org.uk/pdfs/The-
Impact-on-Women-of-the-AFS-2011.pdf
132 Women’s equality in the UK: CEDAW shadow report 2013