In the last 14 years, most people in the UK have experienced a decline in living standards. Women on low incomes, women from minority ethnic backgrounds, Disabled women, and families with children are among those hardest hit. The cuts to public expenditure on social security and public services and state departments introduced by the Coalition Government in 2010 and austerity policies pursued by successive governments have played a decisive role and significantly impacted women’s living standards, gender and other inequalities, poverty levels, health outcomes, and the essential public services that sustain our economy and wellbeing. In this report, we examine the cumulative impact of changes to social security, taxes, and public service spending between 2010/11 and 2027/28 in England.
Key findings
- Overall and on average, women experience a higher annual loss in living standards than men, losing 9.4%, equivalent to £3,162 per year, to men’s loss of 5.8% (£2,395 per year).
- The on-and-off freeze on working-age benefits is the primary driver of income loss for women since 2010.
- Families with children are among the most affected, with single mums facing a 18% drop in living standards, equivalent to a loss of £10,689 per year.
- The poorest women lose out the most, with a 21% reduction in their living standards, a loss of £5,404 per year, while men in the wealthiest decile experience a 2.8% loss.
- Women from Black and Asian backgrounds are facing a 13% decline in their living standards. In cash terms, Black, African, Caribbean, and Black British women experience a cut of £5,399 per year, and Asian and Asian British women £4,259.
- Disabled women stand to lose 11% of their living standards, equivalent to over £4,000 a year, compared to 8% for Disabled men and 5% for non-Disabled men.
Notes
- Microsimulation and distributional analysis by Howard Reed, Landman Economics.
- For this report, living standards were measured by combining net income with the cash-equivalent value of public services. This method acknowledges that living standards depend not only on financial resources but also on the availability and access to essential services such as transport, health and social care, and education.
- To arrive at the figures, we compared two scenarios: one with the impact of policy changes as they have happened since 2010 and are planned until 2027/28, and another hypothetical scenario as if those changes hadn’t happened. All monetary values are in April 2024 prices.
- The model uses data from the Family and Resources Survey (FRS), the Living Costs and Food Survey (LCFS) and Understanding Society, the UK Household Longitudinal Study run by the Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Essex.
- For further information, please see the the Technical appendix.
Read the full report
Read the technical note
Read the Executive Summary