§ Ms. Richardsonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those initiatives of his Department which have been of benefit to women, since 1979, the cost or estimated cost of these initiatives and the proportion of the total budget of his Department this represents.
§ Mr. MacGregorMy right hon. Friend published on Budget day this year a Green Paper on the "Reform of Personal Taxation", which includes proposals to enable married women to have privacy and independence in their tax affairs. One of the Government's first tax measures was to exempt war widows' pension from tax: this will cost an estimted £20 million in 1986–87. We have also introduced the widows' bereavement allowance which helps a newly bereaved widow by giving her the equivalent of the married man's allowance for the tax year in which her husband died and for the following tax year. The cost of this measure in 1986–87 is estimated at £30 million.
Changes to the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme are under discussion, to provide the same benefits to the spouses and children of women civil servants as are given to men. Benefit expenditure is a charge on the civil superannuation vote; the accruing liability would require an additional employer contribution of £12 million annually, equivalent to about 1 per cent. of the Vote.
With regard to its own staff, the Treasury has nominated an equal opportunities officer, and personnel policies and procedures have been reviewed and are being monitored to ensure that they do not discriminate against women. In addition, a number of initiatives to help women combine a career with domestic commitments have been undertaken. These include increasing the opportunities for part-time work, improving the arrangements for taking career breaks, and making non-residential management training available to those with domestic commitments. All staff have been sent a booklet publicising these arrangements. The cost of the initiatives cannot be separated from the total cost of personnel management.