Call for Evidence

The economic impact of the coronavirus crisis has been felt unevenly. This inquiry will examine different forms of inequality that have emerged or that may have been exacerbated by the crisis and how the Treasury can mitigate them. 

Overarching theme 

• What are recent trends in income and wealth inequality in the face of the pandemic? 
• As we recover, how do we combat the inequalities that have been exacerbated as a result of the pandemic?  

Disability, gender, and race 

• How has the economic impact of the crisis affected disability, gender, and race inequality?  

• Following the previous Treasury Committee’s Report on Women in Finance, what has been the impact of the crisis on women in financial services, and what progress needs to be made? 
• How effectively is the Treasury taking disability, gender and race into account when formulating policies and making decisions on departmental spending allocations?  
• How can the Treasury better reflect the impact of its policies by disability, gender, and race in its impact assessments?  
• How does the distribution of income within households affect impact assessments, and how can impact assessments best reflect the distribution of income within households? 

Regional imbalances 

• How has the crisis impacted on regional inequality?  
• Are certain regions or sectors likely to recover more slowly or have longer term economic damage and greater scarring?  
• How can the Government address regional imbalances and mitigate the impact of scarring in regions? 
• How do regional imbalances impact on the constituent nations of the UK? 

• Is the UK Infrastructure Bank designed and purposed in a way which will enable it to play an effective role in reducing regional balances? 

Intergenerational inequality and housing 

• What are the trends in intergenerational inequality, and how has the crisis affected them?  
• What are the root causes of intergenerational inequality?  

• How does housing, and housing finance, impact on intergenerational inequality and regional imbalances?  
• What have been the trends in, and drivers of, house prices, and to what extent can they be attributed to matters related to the Treasury’s remit, in terms of the economy, taxes and housing finance?  
• How has monetary policy impacted on housing, and should the Bank’s remit be changed so that it actively considers the impact of its policies on housing? 
• What problems does the UK housing market have, in particular in relation to housing finance, and how have the housing market been impacted by the coronavirus crisis?  
• How successful have Treasury interventions in housing been? Have they led to any market distortions?