SWBG blog
Responding to the Spring Statement
Blog by Heather Williams, SWBG Training Lead
When the Chancellor Rishi Sunak made his Spring Statement on Wednesday (23/3/22) he provided little relief for the many people already struggling with rising prices and low incomes.
According to the Women’s Budget Group analysis of the spring statement this year’s Spring Statement took place against the background of a rapidly growing cost of living crisis which will have severe consequences to people’s incomes. With the cost of essentials like food and energy going up, and to public services and public sector pay, as departmental cash settlements were agreed back in the autumn when inflation forecasts were expected to be half of today’s rates.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is forecasting that inflation will reach a high of 8.7% in the fourth quarter of 2022 and will average 7.4% in the 2022/23 financial year - its highest rate for 40 years. This is nearly double the inflation forecast in October 2021.
SWBG carried out a women’s survey over February and March this year which highlights some of the ‘hard choices’ women are already making. For 32% of women who recently told us that they struggled to pay their energy costs and were already making the choice to switch off their heating this Spring Statement is unlikely to allay their fears about their ability to heat their homes or cope with the forthcoming energy price rise. For women with an income of under £10,000 this Statement leaves them with even less room to manoeuvre, our survey showed that 75% (of those who responded with an income of less than £10000) were struggling to manage energy costs and 58% had difficulty affording food.
Our survey of women across Scotland showed that a substantial number of those who took part were already struggling to afford rising costs. As such were switching off heating and missing meals or were having to make decisions to cut back on other spending to afford essentials such as food, energy, housing and public transport costs.
Women also told us about how they were cutting back on spending on winter clothes, leisure activities and home improvements to manage everyday costs as budgets are squeezed.
‘I have a disability which is made worse by cold temperatures. I am fearful about turning my heating on at the moment in case I get a frightening bill. It is preventing me from being able to manage larger payments for repairs in my house.’
‘Due to anxieties around energy costs, I've cut back on spending on winter clothing and shoes’
The Chancellor’s actions benefit the richest more than the poorest and will disproportionately benefit better off men, it leaves women yet again hardest hit.
Notes
The SWBG conducted an online survey between 9th February and 14th March 2022, 425 women from across Scotland completed the survey.
Why gender budgeting matters
This month, the convener of the Scottish Women's Budget Group, Angela O'Hagan, appeared on the Scottish feminist policy podcast On The Engender to talk about gender budgeting. The podcast also features voices from SWBG members talking about why they are part of the group.
Listen below, or find it on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts
Equality must be at the heart of Scotland’s budget
In advance of the release of the Draft Scottish Budget, the Scottish Women’s Budget Group is calling for care to be included in the Scottish Government’s planned investment in infrastructure.
She works hard for the money
On Tuesday 7th June, the Scottish Women's Budget Group joined forces with Engender and Close the Gap to hold an event looking at gender budgeting.
It was a fantastic day, with around 50 women coming together to discuss how we can work together to push for a feminist economic plan for Scotland. A full report is on the way, but in the meantime you can access the slides from Professor Angela O'Hagan here, and Emma Ritch, executive director of Engender, here.
You can also see some photos of the day here.
Two follow up meetings will be happening in Edinburgh and Glasgow in August. Book your place here.
If you want to get more involved in the Scottish Women's Budget Group, you can sign up here.
Welcome to Scottish Women's Budget Group's new blog
We hope to use this space to share information about budgets and gender budgeting, our events and publications, and our semi-regular meetings. We're part of a vibrant women's sector in Scotland, and we'll be including voices from across the sector on women and the economy.
We also have members from a range of backgrounds: academics, activists, students, and women who work in related fields and in work that has nothing to do with gender or budgets. You will also hear from some of them.
We hope that you'll find this space useful and interesting.
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