Carnegie UK on ONS wellbeing dashboard update and GDP stats

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today released an update to their wellbeing dashboard, a collection of statistics that measures how people in the UK are doing as individuals, communities, and a nation.

Carnegie UK has welcomed the changes – released on same day as new growth statistics – and urged decision-makers to use a wide range of figures to inform their decision-making.

Jennifer Wallace, director of policy and evidence at Carnegie UK, said: “This new update from the ONS paints a more detailed picture of life in the UK. And this wellbeing portrait isn’t pretty. We see few metrics moving in the right direction and many measures reveal no progress in the quality of everyday living for people in the UK.

“The ONS deserves credit for expanding this dashboard. But on the day that new GDP statistics are released, it is obvious that growth figures are still used as a proxy for social progress in our public debate. While the health of the economy is important, we must see policymakers and the ONS raise the profile of other measures of national success.”

Notes to editors

• Examine the ONS’s wellbeing dashboard here
• This week, Carnegie UK published their new Life in the UK Index.
• Carnegie UK’s purpose is better wellbeing for people in the UK and Ireland. We are a charitable foundation set up over 100 years ago, based in Dunfermline and established with an endowment from Andrew Carnegie. Read more about the organisation: www.carnegieuktrust.org.uk

Contact

Stuart Mackinnon [email protected] / 07934296831