Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what use his Department has made of the National Wellbeing Index introduced by the Office for National Statistics in formulating policy since the introduction of that Index in 2011; and what policies his Department has introduced to improve national wellbeing as defined in that Index since 2010.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is measuring National Wellbeing, not as an index but through a framework of 41 indicators which capture social progress around important aspects of life for individuals, communities and the nation. The statistics are experimental and as such we should not expect to have examples of major policies that have been heavily influenced by the wellbeing data at this stage.

Evidence provided to the Environmental Audit Committee for its Inquiry into Wellbeing can be found at: http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/environmental-audit-committee/inquiries/parliament-2010/well-being/

The evidence submitted by the Department is outlined in Annex A, and demonstrates the impact of our policies and programmes – including our labour market reforms and support for Higher and Further Education – on wellbeing. Since submitting that evidence, we have also commissioned research to develop a comprehensive evidence base on the link between employees' wellbeing and business performance. The findings will feed into future policy development on wellbeing at work, as well as the development of an on-line guide providing suggestions on methods for improving wellbeing in the workplace. The findings from this research, the first of its kind in the UK, are due for publication in late Summer 2014.