Conclusions
1. Some
elements of biodiversity in the UK are at risk, as others are
elsewhere in the World, and the ecosystem service benefits we
are able to draw from that 'natural capital' are being diminished.
Natural capital, as the NCC noted, needs to be 'hard wired' into
policy-making, to help Government not just protect this essential
component of well-being but ensure that it is improved from one
generation to
the next.
(Paragraph 18)
2. Natural capital
is currently inadequately measured. There are risks from measuring
it, that in doing so it becomes something that can be monetised
and traded off against other 'capitals' (including economic capital).
But we share the NCC's assessment that not to do so presents the
greater risks, as the NCC put it, that "what is not measured
is usually ignored". (Paragraph 20)
3. It is important
that the momentum behind the NCC's work is kept up. There is a
risk that with its current remit finishing in 2015, only weeks
before a general election, its future will not get sufficient
consideration. (Paragraph 24)
4. More than three
years since the Prime Minister's declaration of intent, our 'quality
of life' is not yet receiving the same attention as economic aspects
in "measuring our progress as a country". The Government-commissioned
work on subjective well-being is producing valuable new insights
into our society, showing not just the state of citizens' life-satisfaction
or anxiety but also how well that correlates to their circumstances
and where they live. The ONS data, however, currently only 'explain'
less than a fifth of the difference in people's well-being, and
have yet to be developed to a state where they can identify the
cause-and-effect links
that would be needed for
policy-making. (Paragraph 36)
5. A single
headline indicator of well-being could be a ready measure of our
overall sustainable development and how that changes over time.
Because it would require weighting of the component parts of well-being—environmental,
social and economic—it could prompt a useful debate about
what matters most. However, it would also run the risk that those
who did not agree with the weightings, or with the inclusion or
absence of particular measures, might also ignore the changes
or trends in that overall score. If a single measure was sought
also for subjective well-being, both the benefits of the debate
it could generate and the risk of only partial acceptance of the
results would perhaps be even more marked. (Paragraph 39)
6. Well-being
considerations should increasingly influence policy-making, as
the extent and understanding of well-being data is increased.
Its use for behavioural ('nudge') policy-making is particularly
appropriate because it respects individuals' freedom of action—subjective
well-being is ultimately an individual characteristic. The so
far 'experimental' nature of the data and the current gaps in
understanding cause and effect is making Government cautious in
these relatively early stages in the ONS work. (Paragraph 50)
7. Well-being
requires all three pillars of sustainable development to be considered
together. Only by doing so can opportunities to make co-ordinated
progress be identified, and any unavoidable trade-offs between
those pillars be transparently considered. The Government's and
NCC's work on natural capital offers the prospect of the environmental
pillar, as well as the links between social and natural capital,
being more fully integrated into policy-making. That work raises
the question of whether an analogous 'Social Capital Committee'
should be established. Our view is that it is too soon to consider
such a move, on two grounds. While social capital is important,
the safety thresholds or 'boundaries' applicable for some aspects
of the environment are not as evident for social capital. And
while the measures on social capital (captured in the ONS subjective
well-being work) are in some respects more advanced than natural
capital metrics, they need time to build consensus and acceptance.
They also currently lack sufficient time-series data for trends
that require action to be readily discernable. (Paragraph 53)
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