Examples of the Use of Wellbeing concepts in policy

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Opportunity Age (2005), the government’s strategy for an ageing society (led by the Department of Work and Pensions), aims to improve the independence and wellbeing of older people, ensure that longer life is healthy and fulfilling, and that older people are full participants in society. It sets out five domains that underpin older people’s experiences of wellbeing.

• Independence in supportive communities

• Healthy active living
• Fairness in work and later life
• Material wellbeing
• Support and care (especially for people over 80 years old)

Progress along these domains is monitored using 33 indicators that include one overarching wellbeing measure designed for older people (CASP-19). The indicators cover a range of objective wellbeing measures (e.g. income) and some subjective measures (e.g. fear of crime).

The Health, Work and Well-being - Caring for our future strategy (2005) aims to improve the health and wellbeing of the working age population. It is being implemented through a five way partnership between Department of Health, Department for Work and Pensions, Health and Safety Executive, Scottish Executive and Welsh Assembly Government. The strategy recognises the important contribution that employment makes to health and wellbeing.  The focus is three fold: preventing people becoming injured or ill, keeping them healthy in work and providing wide ranging, accessible support to enable them to remain in or return to work more quickly. The program set up to deliver the strategy includes a range of initiatives including those by the Health and Safety Executive such as the Backs and Stress campaigns and Workplace Health Connect. The Department of Health’s Commissioning Framework for Health and Well-being proposes a new approach to commissioning that includes a move a way from a system characterised by a focus on treating illness and ill health towards the promotion of health, wellbeing and independence.

Every Child Matters: Change for Children(2006) implemented by the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) aims to improve the daily experiences of all children and young people. Itsets out a national framework for local change programmes to build services around the needs of children and young people to maximise opportunity and minimise risk. It advocates a holistic approach that recognises how services can shift the focus towards preventing things from going wrong for children rather than dealing with the consequences of difficulties in children’s lives. The strategy identifies five priority outcomes for all children (identified by children) that cover different dimensions of wellbeing such as the need for material welfare as well as enjoying life and feeling a sense of achievement and the role that this plays in the process of understanding yourself and your place in the world:

• being healthy;
• staying safe;
• enjoying and achieving;
• making a positive contribution;
• achieving economic well-being.

Wellbeing is assessed against the Every Child Matters framework using various data sources. The Family and Children’s Survey - led by DWP and co-funded by DCSF - asks children if they are happy in general, happy with their parents etc. It also includes surveys on bullying and anti-bullying, surveys of teenagers related to the teenage pregnancy survey, and a range of studies on quality of life and happiness.

Defra’s Ecosystems Approach project  aims to help deliver natural environment outcomes more effectively and more efficiently through managing the natural environment in a more holistic and integrated way, and communicating more clearly and reflecting in decision-making the value of the ‘ecosystem services’ which a healthy natural environment provides for people.  These ecosystem services are vital to our health, economy and wellbeing. This work draws on the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) which sets out a typology of services which ecosystems provide. Examples of ecosystem services include the provision of food and raw materials, high quality green space for recreation and wellbeing, and basic resources such as clean air and water.  This project is involving internal and external stakeholders to produce an action plan by the end of 2007 for embedding an ecosystems approach across policy-making and delivery in England.

Follow this link for further information on other initiatives on wellbeing.