Triple Whammy: the impact of local government cuts on women

Background

A report written by Heather Wakefield for Women’s Budget Group explores the crisis that has been created by finding cuts to local government since 2010, which as hit women the hardest.

• Central government funding for local government fell by nearly 50% between 2010/11 and 2017/18 and will fall by over 56% by 2019/20.
• Between 2010 and 2020 £16 billion will have been cut from local council’s budgets and the gap is set to grow.
• In the last year there have been two reports from UN experts highlighting the devastating impact austerity is having on women’s human rights

Key Findings

Drastic cuts to local government effect council meeting statutory obligations

• These cuts have had a devastating impact on local services. Spending on adult social care fell between 2010/11 and 2016/17, despite an increase of over 14% in the number of people aged over 65 in need of it. 1.4 million people currently need but do not receive social care.
• Spending on other services fell by a third.
• More than 75% of England’s local authorities slashed their spending on domestic violence refuges – by nearly a quarter (24%) – between 2010 and 2017
• These cuts represent a triple whammy for women: local government is responsible for many of the services on which women disproportionately depend; when services are cut many women have to increase their unpaid work to fill the gaps and women are disproportionately likely to work in local authorities and schools, so hit harder when jobs are cut.

The press release for the report can be found here

Read the full report