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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, 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.

Mr Nick Hurd

This Government is starting to advance the use of wellbeing indicators in policy formulation.

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/

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what (a) subjective and (b) objective measures the Office for National Statistics uses to measure public wellbeing; and whether that Office is considering any changes to those measures.

Mr Nick Hurd

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-04.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, 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.

Nicky Morgan

As the Prime Minister has said “we’ll start measuring our progress as a country not just by how our economy is growing, but by our quality of life.”

The National Wellbeing Index and Measures of Wellbeing provides a rich contribution to the debate about the health and happiness of the people of the United Kingdom.

These are relatively new statistical series, meaning that the evidence base on wellbeing, and the implications for policy making, are still being developed. The ONS Wellbeing statistics released on the 4^th June made a helpful contribution to this debate. They revealed for example, that those households that receive more of their income from benefits are more likely to have lower life satisfaction. This government has overseen record employment levels and is reforming the benefit system so that it always pays to work and people are not trapped in a life on benefits.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, 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.

Mrs Helen Grant

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.

Since the introduction of the ONS framework for measuring National Wellbeing in 2011, DCMS has worked closely with the ONS to introduce sport and culture participation measures within ONS’ national wellbeing headline measures for adults (May 2013). In January this year, measures of sport and culture were also included within ONS’ initial national child wellbeing measures. DCMS’ National Statistic ‘Taking Part’, on culture and sport engagement, has measured subjective wellbeing since 2005/06. In 2012 ONS’ subjective wellbeing questions were also added to support further analysis of wellbeing impacts.

Our policies of ‘Getting more people playing sport’ and ‘Supporting vibrant and sustainable arts and culture’ are directly linked to ONS’ national wellbeing measurement. DCMS continues to work to better understand and consider the impact of its sectors and policy on people’s wellbeing across a number of the domains in ONS’ national wellbeing measures including health, education, crime and unemployment. For example, in our recently released reports on ‘Quantifying the Social Impacts of Culture and Sport¹‘ and ‘Quantifying and Valuing the Wellbeing Impacts of Culture and Sport²‘

¹https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/quantifying-the-social-impacts-of-sport-and-culture

² https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/quantifying-and-valuing-the-wellbeing-impacts-of-culture-and-sport

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the use in Northern Ireland of prize draws to increase voter registration.

Greg Clark

No direct assessment has been made by the Cabinet Office of the use of prize draws to improve electoral registration in Northern Ireland.

However, we have learnt from the experience of Northern Ireland and used it to inform the development of Individual Electoral Registration (IER) in Great Britain. Unlike the transition to IER in Northern Ireland in 2002, in Great Britain data matching is being used to confirm the majority of current electors on the existing register without them having to make a new application. The Government has also provided £4.2 million funding which has been shared between five national organisations and all 363 local authorities in order to promote voter registration, particularly amongst under-registered groups.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what steps he is taking to disseminate the lessons learned from the data mining pilots for the introduction of individual electoral registrations; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Clark

The Government published its results in March 2012 and July 2013 and can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/60723/FINAL-Data-Matching-Evaluation-Report-new.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/223850/Data_Mining_Evaluation_FULL_Report_FINAL.pdf

The Electoral Commission also produced their assessment of the pilots. Their reports can be found at:

http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/162106/Data-mining-pilot-evaluation-report.pdf

http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/146836/Data-matching-pilot-evaluation.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what recent discussions he has had with (a) church and community leaders from black and minority ethnic communities and (b) Operation Black Vote on increasing registration levels for voters in those communities.

Greg Clark

I met recently with Operation Black Vote to discuss the importance of electoral registration.

The Government is keen to work with groups and organisations to support and raise the profile of the importance of voter registration amongst all communities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, whether monies collected from fixed penalty notices issued for failure to register on the electoral register will be retained by the local authority which issues that notice.

Greg Clark

Under paragraph 11 of schedule ZA1 to the Representation of the People Act 1983, monies received from a civil penalty notice issued for failure to respond to a notice of requirement to register on the electoral register are paid into the Consolidated Fund.