Labour has secured a vote on its
amendment to the Finance Bill to force the Government to conduct an assessment
of the impact of social security changes and fiscal measures on disadvantaged
groups.

The Government failed to meet
Labour’s demand for the Budget to be audited on the basis of gender, race, age, disability, class and region.
Other parties have now joined Labour calls for transparency, with 127 MPs from
Labour, the Lib Dems, SNP and the Greens, signing Dawn Butler’s letter to
Justine Greening calling for all Government policy to be assessed for their
impact on disadvantaged groups.   

Although the Public Sector
Equality Duty (PSED) places a legal responsibility on public bodies, including
the Treasury, to conduct equality assessments, the Treasury has failed to
publish adequate equalities audits of its fiscal measures.

This comes as analysis shows that
86 per cent of tax and social security changes continue to fall on women and
women only received two thirds of the spending men received in this budget.

Dawn Butler MP,
Labour’s Shadow Women and Equalities Minister, said:

“The Tories’ failed austerity
project has hit the most vulnerable groups in our society the hardest, forcing
women, ethnic minority communities and disabled people to pay the highest
price.

“The Finance Bill represents more
of the same for groups with protected characteristics who have borne the brunt
of Conservative economic failure for too long. We need a detailed assessment to
reveal the full damage of Tory austerity.

“The next Labour
government will ensure that we publish comprehensive equality impact
assessments to enable us to truly build an economy that works for the many, not
the few.”

Peter
Dowd MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, speaking ahead of the
committee stage of the Finance Bill in the House of Commons today, has
demanded an end to the tax giveaways to the big banks. He also demanded
greater transparency in the Government’s planned cuts to the rate of the
Bank Levy.

Labour
has tabled three new clauses and a paving amendment on the issue of the Bank
Levy. The amendments would: force the government to assess the effectiveness of
the Bank Levy as a revenue raising measure since its introduction in 2011; to
increase the transparency of the levy and its operation; and to ensure
that the changes introduced by this Finance Bill are measured and reviewed.

Before
the Budget leading children’s charities warned the Chancellor that children’s
services required £2bn of additional funding before 2020 to avert a crisis
in a system.

Peter
Dowd MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said:

“The
Tories chose in the Budget to prioritise further tax giveaways to the big banks
over spending on our vital public services, such as children’s services.

“Today we
are simply asking for greater transparency over this unfair giveaway to already
profitable big banks at a time when our public services and working families
are struggling just before Christmas.

“These
planned cuts in the rate of the Bank Levy will see billions handed out to the
major banks by 2020. 

"Last
week Labour tried to correct this by amending the Finance Bill to end the
£4.7bn cut in the Bank Levy, which last month’s Budget failed to reverse, and
called for it instead to be channelled into vulnerable children’s services. But
the Chancellor chose to plough on with this heartless choice. 

"Philip
Hammond could still
change direction. He
can either choose to end this injustice in the Finance Bill, or choose for
Christmas to come early for the bankers and act like Scrooge to the rest of
us.”

Emma
Lewell-Buck MP, Labour’s
Shadow Education Minister for Children and Families, commenting on the
recent findings made by the NSPCC that 90 referrals are made per-week to local
agencies over fears of sexual abuse, said:

“This is
the latest evidence that demand for child protection services is going up, just
as funding is being cut. The Government’s own figures show that spending
on children’s services has already fallen by a tenth under the Tories, and we
are heading for a £2bn shortfall by 2020. Ministers should cancel their latest
multi-billion pound tax break for bankers and start protecting the most
vulnerable children instead.”

Ends

Angela Rayner MP, Shadow
Secretary of State for Education, commenting on NEU survey showing
Teachers’ pay being cut due to lack of annual pay rises and performance related
pay progression, said:

“This survey is the
latest evidence that the Tories have left schools and teachers in an impossible
position. After imposing a pay cap that left teachers £5,000 worse off in real
terms, they are now acting as if they have ended the public sector pay cap, but
won’t give schools a penny to fund pay rises.

“If the pay cap effectively continues by the back door, it will only make it
harder for schools to recruit and retain the staff they need to give every
child the best possible start in life.

“The next Labour
Government will scrap the public sector pay cap, with ring-fence funding to
give teachers the pay rise they deserve, as we create a National Education
Service and build a country for the many, and not just the few.”

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Debbie Abrahams MP,
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, commenting on the Government’s
response to Paul Gray’s second independent review of the personal independence
payment assessment, said:

“It is clear the Personal
Independent Payment (PIP) assessment process is not fit for purpose. Instead of
supporting people, the process leaves individuals and their families
lives in tatters. The recommendations from Paul Gray’s second review
regarding improving trust and transparency, timely reporting and quality
assurance have not been accepted in full. 

“There remains an evident
distrust of the assessment process by sick and disabled people. This is no
surprise with a record 68% of PIP decisions taken to tribunal being overturned
by judges. The assessment process is getting worse, not better.

“Labour will scrap the
Personal Independence Payment and Work Capability Assessments and replace them
with a personalised, holistic assessment process which provides each individual
with a tailored plan, building on their strengths and addressing barriers,
whether finance, skills, health, care, transport, or housing related. ”

Ends