WBG response to the King’s Speech 2024

Speaking in response to the King’s Speech today, WBG Director, Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson, said:

“The Women’s Budget Group welcomes the level of ambition set out in today’s King’s Speech. There is real potential for these Bills to bring about tangible change for the lives of women across the country, especially within the Employment Rights Bill, the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, and the Crimes and Policing Bill. We look forward to seeing further detail on each Bill and working with the Government to support them to build a gender-equal economy.

We were disappointed not to see a pledge to end the two-child limit to means-tested benefits. This would have been the single most effective way of ending child poverty, lifting 250,000 children out of poverty and reducing poverty for 850,000 children ¹ . We hope that the child poverty task force announced today will result in action to lift this limit.

We welcome the commitment by Chancellor Rachel Reeves to build an economy that works for women and no longer undervalues their contribution to society. After more than a decade of austerity, as well as the ongoing impact of Covid-19 and the cost of living crisis, it is vital that the Labour government adopts a gender-sensitive approach to policy-making. If each of the Bills set out today are to support these commitments, it is vital that as the Government complies with the Public Sector Equality Duty and carries out effective Equality Impact Assessments throughout the policy development and implementation processes.”

Employment Rights Bill

The King’s speech announced that the Government would ‘legislate to introduce a new deal for working people to ban exploitative practices and enhance employment rights.’ WBG welcomes this and much of the detail set out in Labour’s New Deal for Working People. The barriers to paid work encountered by women, and the disadvantages they face including underemployment and lower pay, mean that £88.7bn of Gross Value Added (GVA) is lost to Britain’s economy every year – equivalent to the annual contribution of the financial services sector. At a local level, the average regional economy is losing out on £1.68bn per year – nearly 10% of annual economic output in some areas. The detrimental effects of workplace inequalities represents the real cost to communities, hindering the accumulation of wealth and autonomy, driving health inequalities, and putting women and their families at a greater risk of isolation, poverty and poor health.

It is therefore vital that Labour does not lose its ambition on reforming workers’ rights across and making real strides towards creating an economy that works for women.

Crime and Policing Bill

The King announced the target, within the Crime and Policing Bill, to reduce violence against women and girls (VAWG) by 50%. VAWG is still a core cause and a consequence of gender inequality and an abuse of women’s human rights. Despite some increases in government spending on VAWG, funding remains inadequate and difficult for support services to access. In 2022-23, over 60% of referrals to domestic abuse refuges in England were declined, and 14,000 survivors are on waiting lists for Rape Crisis centres ² . The Government must commit to long-term grant funding for specialist VAWG service provision, including ringfenced funding for ‘by and for’ services for minoritised women.

Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill

The King announced the Government’s aim within the Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill to reduce delays in the criminal courts and ensure that victims get the support they deserve. We welcome this ambition. Women face alarming barriers in accessing civil legal justice and are severely impacted by reduced funding to the legal justice system. Research and investment to improve the provision of legal aid is needed. The LASPO Act 2012, which cut funding for many legal areas, has disproportionately affected women on low incomes and of Black and minority ethnic background, new migrant women, and women acting as carers. If the Government is serious about providing victims with the support that they deserve, this Bill will make legal aid more flexible and address the systemic structural barriers to access to justice.

Planning and Infrastructure Bill and the Renters’ Rights Bill

Housing is fundamental to life, security, and wellbeing as well as tackling climate change and working towards a zero-carbon future. Yet there is a significant gender gap when it comes to housing affordability. Average rents in England take up 36% of a woman’s median earnings compared to 26% of men’s. The average cost of renting a two-bedroom property in England swallows 40% of women’s earnings and 28% of men’s. In London it is 62% of women’s earnings and 49% of men’s. In terms of home ownership, the median home in England costs over 11 times women’s median wages (eight times for men).

WBG therefore welcomes the plan to increase the supply of housing and improve renters’ rights. Going forward, tackling the housing affordability crisis will require further commitments to invest in social housing, building new, low carbon homes with guaranteed low rents.

Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill

We welcome the announcement of a draft Race Equality Bill and the commitment to enshrining equal pay into law. This will be particularly beneficial to Black and Ethnic Minority, and disabled women who face the intersection of gendered inequalities with other systems of structural disadvantage. Class and race significantly impact an individual’s experience of gendered inequality and disabled women have lower pre-tax household incomes than other women or disabled men ³ , ⁴ . Black and Minority Ethnic women earn on average 10-28% less than white men and women and are overrepresented in low-grade positions across all sectors. There is also a glaring lack of diversity in leadership roles: no CEO of a FTSE 100 company or a civil service permanent secretary is a Black or Minority Ethnic woman ⁴ .

These income disparities not only impact women’s earnings but also their financial independence and control over their lives. The uneven distribution of unpaid caregiving responsibilities, coupled with other systemic inequalities, significantly restricts women’s opportunities to accrue wealth – men, on average, have 35% more than women ⁵ .

We look forward to working with the Government on this important step toward building a gender-inclusive economy.

National Wealth Fund Bill

The announcement of a National Wealth Fund Bill is a welcome recognition that significant investment in key infrastructure is desperately needed for a green and just transition. This includes public investment, as well as public leadership. However, we are concerned about the current composition of the taskforce, which lacks representation from trade unions, industry, and regional public bodies. The initial public capital announced of £7.3bn also falls short of what will be required to clean our physical infrastructure and invest in key green industries. Its remit is also very limited, focusing only on clean energy projects. The transition to a green and just economy will require mobilisation and investment in virtually all economic sectors, including social infrastructure (care, health and education).

WBG wants to see an ambitious public investment strategy to fund the transition to and the running of a Green and Caring Economy. This should include a network of regional public investment banks to fund locally beneficial projects on clean energy and manufacturing, but also the foundational services of our economy and people’s wellbeing like health, adult social and childcare, and education.

English Devolution Bill

WBG welcomes the announced plans for an English Devolution Bill. It is important that these devolution settlements   make clear the requirements for devolved funds to be subject to effective Equality Impact Assessments and come alongside increased funding for local government to address the disproportionate impact that public sector cuts are having on women across the country.

Better Buses Bill

WBG welcomes the Government’s commitment to reform the bus system by delivering new powers for local leaders. Women rely more on public transport but it often does not serve their travel and security needs. People outside of London still have to rely on the car for lack of suitable public transport. Public transport investment and design have prioritised the typical male full-time worker pattern. Severe cuts to local buses in the last 12 years have disproportionately impacted women and older people, particularly in rural areas.

Lack of affordable public transport creates barriers to women accessing employment opportunities, education, health, and other essential services and reduces women’s ability to participate in public life.

Government ambitions should be to invest in a well-connected, integrated, affordable and widespread national public transport system, with an emphasis on improving bus services and walking and cycling routes. Further, an inclusive green transport system would invest massively in widespread, accessible and affordable, if not free, public transport. Crucially, we need an expanded, more frequent, and electrified bus network.