Annual update of the state of our environment,
society and economy
The latest picture of the UK's environmental, social and economic wellbeing has been published, and for the
first time includes some measures of personal wellbeing in the population.
Sustainable development indicators in your pocket 2007 is the latest set of pointers to the state of the nation
across a range of issues including health, housing, jobs, crime, education and the environment, which are all
important for our sustainable development.
The set of 68 cross-Government indicators within the booklet includes 'traffic lights' to signal where things
are getting better, worse or staying the same . More than half the official measurements show improvement.
Environment Minister Phil Woolas said:
"These indicators highlight some of the challenges for our lifestyles, for business and for policy makers if we
are to develop sustainably. They help to illustrate where we are making progress and where we may need to
develop our thinking and do things differently to get improvements.
"It is important that people can see for themselves where we as a country are getting things right or where
we all need to do more or do things differently - not just in combating climate change, but in reducing other
environmental impacts, in worrying about how we function as a society and how people are affected.
"What has perhaps been missing from these indicators in the past has been information on how people are
affected by where they live, their work, and their daily lives. I therefore very much welcome the new
preliminary measures of wellbeing that are also published today and included in this important indicator
report.
“These show, in line with previous research, that most people are generally satisfied with their lives. But it
will come as no surprise that this is not uniform across the population - the most disadvantaged are clearly
less satisfied with their circumstances than the rest of the population.
“The wellbeing measures published today are still very much ‘work in progress’ and there is more to be done
before we can be confident that we have the right approach. But despite the uncertainties, they do provide a
starting point for developing an important additional perspective on the state of our society and quality of
life."
Of all the distinct messages from the indicators (many indicators comprise more than one measure) there are
50 measures which show improvement, 11 show deterioration, and 32 show no change, when comparing the
latest available data with the situation seven or eight years ago.
Compared with 1999, areas showing improvement include:
·
air pollution emissions
·
waste recycling
·
vehicle crime and burglary
·
housing conditions
·
local environmental quality
and areas showing deterioration include:
·
aviation emissions of greenhouse gases
·
fossil fuels used for electricity generation
·
differences in life expectancy between local authority areas
·
urban ozone pollution
·
childhood obesity
Wellbeing is an issue that is at the heart of sustainable development. The 2005 UK sustainable development
strategy included a commitment to consider how we might better reflect wellbeing through indicators and in
policy development.
A cross-Government understanding on what wellbeing means in a policy context and its importance for policy
development is also published today on the UK Government’s sustainable development website.
Within this context, for the first time in this year’s indicator publication, there is information on people’s own
assessments of their lives. The measures show that almost three quarters of people are fairly or very satisfied
with their lives – rating their lives with a score of at least 7 out of 10. However, there are differences between
people of different backgrounds, and a small minority are very dissatisfied with their lives.
Twenty of the sustainable development indicators in the publication are also 'UK Framework indicators'
covering key impacts and outcomes that reflect the priority areas shared by the UK Government and the
devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
These include:
·
Greenhouse gas emissions
·
River water quality
·
Bird populations
·
Crime
·
Health inequality
·
Environmental equality
first time includes some measures of personal wellbeing in the population.
Sustainable development indicators in your pocket 2007 is the latest set of pointers to the state of the nation
across a range of issues including health, housing, jobs, crime, education and the environment, which are all
important for our sustainable development.
The set of 68 cross-Government indicators within the booklet includes 'traffic lights' to signal where things
are getting better, worse or staying the same . More than half the official measurements show improvement.
Environment Minister Phil Woolas said:
"These indicators highlight some of the challenges for our lifestyles, for business and for policy makers if we
are to develop sustainably. They help to illustrate where we are making progress and where we may need to
develop our thinking and do things differently to get improvements.
"It is important that people can see for themselves where we as a country are getting things right or where
we all need to do more or do things differently - not just in combating climate change, but in reducing other
environmental impacts, in worrying about how we function as a society and how people are affected.
"What has perhaps been missing from these indicators in the past has been information on how people are
affected by where they live, their work, and their daily lives. I therefore very much welcome the new
preliminary measures of wellbeing that are also published today and included in this important indicator
report.
“These show, in line with previous research, that most people are generally satisfied with their lives. But it
will come as no surprise that this is not uniform across the population - the most disadvantaged are clearly
less satisfied with their circumstances than the rest of the population.
“The wellbeing measures published today are still very much ‘work in progress’ and there is more to be done
before we can be confident that we have the right approach. But despite the uncertainties, they do provide a
starting point for developing an important additional perspective on the state of our society and quality of
life."
Of all the distinct messages from the indicators (many indicators comprise more than one measure) there are
50 measures which show improvement, 11 show deterioration, and 32 show no change, when comparing the
latest available data with the situation seven or eight years ago.
Compared with 1999, areas showing improvement include:
·
air pollution emissions
·
waste recycling
·
vehicle crime and burglary
·
housing conditions
·
local environmental quality
and areas showing deterioration include:
·
aviation emissions of greenhouse gases
·
fossil fuels used for electricity generation
·
differences in life expectancy between local authority areas
·
urban ozone pollution
·
childhood obesity
Wellbeing is an issue that is at the heart of sustainable development. The 2005 UK sustainable development
strategy included a commitment to consider how we might better reflect wellbeing through indicators and in
policy development.
A cross-Government understanding on what wellbeing means in a policy context and its importance for policy
development is also published today on the UK Government’s sustainable development website.
Within this context, for the first time in this year’s indicator publication, there is information on people’s own
assessments of their lives. The measures show that almost three quarters of people are fairly or very satisfied
with their lives – rating their lives with a score of at least 7 out of 10. However, there are differences between
people of different backgrounds, and a small minority are very dissatisfied with their lives.
Twenty of the sustainable development indicators in the publication are also 'UK Framework indicators'
covering key impacts and outcomes that reflect the priority areas shared by the UK Government and the
devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
These include:
·
Greenhouse gas emissions
·
River water quality
·
Bird populations
·
Crime
·
Health inequality
·
Environmental equality