1 Introduction
1. The development of measures of sustainable development
for the UK is currently progressing on two fronts: a 'Measuring
National Well-being' initiative being run by the Office for National
Statistics (ONS) and a Defra-managed revision to the Sustainable
Development Indicators (SDIs).
Measuring National Well-being
2. In November 2010, the Prime Minister tasked the
ONS to develop measures of "national well-being and progress"
to supplement existing measures of economic development such as
Gross Domestic Product (GDP).[1]
The Prime Minister referred to the 2009 Commission on the Measurement
of Economic Performance and Social Progress ('Sarkozy Commission'),
which focused on maintaining 'stocks' of 'capitals' over time.[2]
Subsequently, OECD produced a 'Better Life Index' in 2011,[3]
and the UN Rio+20 Earth Summit in June 2012 tasked the UN Statistical
Commission to develop "broader measures of progress to complement
GDP in order to better inform policy decisions".[4]
3. In our January 2011 report on embedding sustainable
development, we welcomed the Prime Minister's initiative.[5]
Since then, the ONS's 'Measuring National
Well-being' programme has involved consultations on the measures
to be used. This has included measures of both subjective well-being,
to be gleaned through surveying people to "find out how people
think and feel about their own lives",[6]
and objective well-being. The ONS explained in July 2012 that:
One of the main benefits to National Statistics Offices
of collecting information on subjective well-being is that it
is based on people's views of their own individual well-being.
In the past, assumptions were made about how objective conditions,
such as people's health and income, might influence their individual
well-being. Subjective well-being measures, on the other hand,
are grounded in individuals' preferences and take account of what
matters to people by allowing them to decide what is important.
The four overall monitoring questions that were included
in the Integrated Household Survey and Opinions and Lifestyle
Survey were:
Overall, how satisfied are you with your life nowadays?
Overall, to what extent do you feel the things you
do in your life are worthwhile?
Overall, how happy did you feel yesterday?
Overall, how anxious did you feel yesterday?[7]
4. The ONS published on 20 November 2012 an analysis
of the survey results,[8]
updating an initial analysis in July, [9]
which compared well-being scores by sub-groups of the population
such as gender, age, ethnic group, relationship status, health,
disability, employment status and occupation, as well as by nation,
region and local authority.
5. The ONS published for consultation in October
2011 possible 'domains' (the themes comprising well-being) and
the 'measures' underlying those domains.[10]
As a result of that consultation, a revised set of measures was
published in July 2012.[11]
Because "there was strong support for the measures which
were proposed," the changes made in producing a second iteration
of the measures in July 2012 were not significant.[12]
Currently the measures comprise 10 domains covering 39 individual
measures, as set out in Figure 4.
Sustainable Development Indicators
6. In January 2001, the then Government published
statistics for the first set of SDIs. Our predecessor Committee
examined these in 2002,[13]
and then the 2002 results in 2003.[14]
A revised set was compiled in 2005. The current indicator set
(published annually between 2005 and 2010) consisted of 68 indicators
(listed in Figure 1). As we reported in January 2011, those SDIs
were established in the 2005 Sustainable Development Strategy
to measure progress across the UK, beyond the impact of departments'
own operations and procurements, and covering sustainable consumption
and production, climate change and energy, the protection of natural
resources and the environment, and sustainable communities.[15]
7. In February 2011, the Government's Vision for
Mainstreaming Sustainable Development, (which we examined
in our second report on embedding sustainable development in May
2011)[16] gave a commitment
to "measure and report our progress through a new set of
sustainable development indicators".[17]
That culminated in a draft set of new SDIs being published by
Defra for consultation on 24 July 2012. Although the consultation
formally closed on 15 October, Defra told us that it will take
our views into account before drawing together the results of
the consultation at the end of this year.
8. The "streamlined" proposed new
set of indicators comprises 12 'headline indicators' and 25 'supplementary
indicators' (Figure 2). The 12 provisional headline indicators
would be "high-level outcome measures and capture priority
issues for making economic, environmental and social progress
for this and future generations".[18]
Our inquiry
9. In undertaking this brief inquiry our aim is to
examine the proposed new SDIs currently under consultation. Many
of those who submitted written evidence to us had also contributed
to Defra's consultation, and several also copied their contributions
to us. We took oral evidence on 13 November from officials from
Defra (which is managing the development of the SDIs), from the
ONS (managing the Measuring National Well-being programme) and
from the Behavioural Insights Team in the Cabinet Office/Number
10 (which leads on well-being policy).
10. We have in this report focussed on the links
between the two initiatives (Part 2) and some of the detail of
the new SDIs (Part 3). Later, in a further inquiry, we intend
to examine the ongoing ONS work on Measuring National Well-being,
following the further developments envisaged in the ONS's progress
report published on 20 November.
1 National Statistician's Reflections on the National
Debate on Measuring National Well-being, ONS, July 2011 (http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/publications/measuring-what-matters--national-statistician-s-reflections-on-the-national-debate-on-measuring-national-well-being.pdf)
Back
2
Report of the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance
and Social Progress, Joseph Stiglitz, Amartya Sen and Jean-Paul
Fitoussi, 2009 (http://www.stiglitz-sen-fitoussi.fr/en/index.htm).
Back
3
Better Life Index, OECD, 2011 (http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/).
This differentiates between material conditions and 'quality of
life', but has so far not addressed 'capitals'. Back
4
The Future We Want, UN, June 2012, para 38 (http://www.uncsd2012.org/) Back
5
Environmental Audit Committee, Embedding sustainable development
across government, First Report, Session 2010-12, HC 504 (http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmselect/cmenvaud/504/504vw.pdf)
Back
6
First ONS Annual Experimental Subjective Well-being Results,
ONS, July 2012 (http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-subjective-wellbeing-in-the-uk/first-annual-ons-experimental-subjective-well-being-results/index.html)
Back
7
Ibid. Back
8
Measuring National Well-being: Life in the UK 2012, ONS, November
2012 (http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171766_287415.pdf ) Back
9
First ONS Annual Experimental Subjective Well-being Results,
ONS, July 2012, op cit Back
10
Measuring National Well-being: Discussion paper on domains
and measures, ONS, Oct 2011 (http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/discussion-paper-on-domains-and-measures/measuring-national-well-being---discussion-paper-on-domains-and-measures.html)
Back
11
Report on consultation responses on proposed domains and measures,
ONS, July 2012 (http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/about-ons/user-engagement/consultations-and-surveys/archived-consultations/2012/measuring-national-well-being-domains/report-on-consultation-responses-on-proposed-domains-and-measures.pdf)
; Q5 Back
12
Report on consultation responses on proposed domains and measures,
op cit, Table 1 Back
13
Environmental Audit Committee, Measuring the quality of life:
The 2001 Sustainable Development Headline Indicators, Fourth
Report, session 2001-02, HC 824 (http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmselect/cmenvaud/824/824.pdf)
Back
14
Environmental Audit Committee, The Sustainable Development
Headline Indicators 2002, Eleventh Report, session 2002-03,
HC 1080 (http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmselect/cmenvaud/1080/1080.pdf)
Back
15
Environmental Audit Committee, Embedding sustainable development
across government, HC 504, op cit. Back
16
Environmental Audit Committee, Embedding sustainable development:
The Government's response, Fourth Report, Session 2010-12,
HC 877 (http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmenvaud/877/877.pdf)
Back
17
Vision for Mainstreaming Sustainable Development, Defra,
February 2011 (http://sd.defra.gov.uk/documents/mainstreaming-sustainable-development.pdf)
Back
18
Informal Consultation on Sustainable Development Indicators,
Defra July 2012 (http://sd.defra.gov.uk/documents/SDI-Consultation-Document.pdf)
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