Mental Health
Why are young people so unhappy?
The new World Happiness Report based on surveys in 140 countries indicates young people...read more
PM launches plan to measure happiness
Prime Minister David Cameron has asked for the nation’s wellbeing to be measured for the Government from next April.
Prime Minister David Cameron has asked for the nation’s wellbeing to be measured for the Government from next April.
The announcement follows the June Budget which stated that GDP was not an adequate way of measuring quality of life.
Cameron has asked the National Statistician, Jill Matheson, to lead work on developing subjective measures for the first time.
In a speech on Thursday, the PM stressed that prosperity alone cannot deliver happiness and that the coalition must promote quality of life as well as economic growth. “From April next year we will start measuring our progress as a country not just by how our economy is growing, but by how our lives are improving, not just by our standard of living, but by our quality of life.
“We’ll continue to measure GDP as we’ve always done, but it is high time we admitted that, taken on its own, GDP is an incomplete way of measuring a country’s progress.”
He said the information gathered would give a “general picture of how life is improving” and help the country re-evaluate its priorities in life.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) will lead a debate called the National Wellbeing Project which will seek to establish the key areas that matter most to people’s wellbeing.
Potential indicators include health, levels of education, inequalities in income and the environment.
Read more
Related
Tax Credits & Benefits
Benefits crackdown amid rising inequality
In the midst of an economic crisis, which is hitting the poorest the worst, the Government...read more
