To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Verma on 16 December (Official Report, col. 721), why the Women's Budget Group report on the impact of Spending Review 2010 does not accurately reflect what the Government is doing in respect of the impact of Spending Review 2010 on women.

The methodology used in the report allocates all of public spending, which we do not believe it is appropriate to do. Any analysis of this kind will not present the full picture because the analysis of public service spending has significant analytical limitations. It values services at input costs and does not consider the value the end user places on the service, or how effective those services are. It cannot account for efficiencies and reforms that allow the same service to be delivered for less money. It presents a static picture of spend and cannot factor in changes to people's circumstances over time. And it captures which services and income groups receive money, but not the long term impact of those services on people's lives.

It therefore does not fully reflect Spending Review measures that shift the focus of support away from welfare and towards supporting greater social mobility. Indeed, the Women's Budget Group itself welcomes the emphasis that the coalition Government have given in the Spending Review to fairness and social mobility.