Life not improving for average person according to ONS stats

New official figures that measure quality of life in the UK show almost no short-term improvements for the average person. But despite this trend, two thirds of people in Great Britain feel hope for the future.

The ONS has today (9.30am, 11 February) updated their UK Measures of National Well-being Dashboard. The statistics show little or no improvement across figures that look at personal finance, community integration and people’s ability to influence the government. Stand-out figures include:

– About 1 in 4 adults (22.9%) in Great Britain found it fairly or very difficult to get by financially in the past month. This figure has not changed in the short term, according to the ONS.

– Just over half (54.5%) of adults in Great Britain say that people from different backgrounds get on well together in their local area. This figure has not changed in the short term, according to the ONS.

– Just under 7 in 10 adults (68.5%) in Great Britain said they do not have any say in what the government does. This figure has not changed in the short term, according to the ONS.

Despite these trends, two-thirds of adults say they feel hopeful about their future.

Carnegie UK, a foundation that works on wellbeing public policy, says that the UK Government needs to put statistics that measure people’s lives at the centre of their policymaking. Furthermore, the wellbeing policy experts argue that government at all levels needs to build upon people’s hope for the future by restoring trust.

Adam Lang, director of policy at Carnegie UK, said: “In the last month, we’ve heard the ambitions of the Chancellor to get the UK’s economy moving. But a shift in our national economic performance tells us little about whether this change is delivering improvements for people and communities across the country.

“That’s why we need policymakers to take a closer look at figures like these produced by the ONS which show so little improvement across many crucial measures.”

On hope and trust in government Adam Lang said: “These figures point to a rocky relationship between people in power and local communities. But despite this breakdown, we still see that a clear majority of people are hopeful about the future.

“Government needs to build upon this hope by taking systematic action to restore trust in politics and government through a new national mission.

“This could result in more opportunities for people to influence the decisions that affect their lives through initiatives such as citizen juries and panels. It should mean action to restore trust is baked into devolution proposals. While hope for the future is important, our decision-makers must not take it for granted.”

Contact

Stuart Mackinnon: [email protected]