Supplementary information to accompany the three year ...doc.ukdataservice.ac.uk/doc/7924/mrdoc/pdf/7924... · EDAGECOR Age when compltd cont. FT education GSS, SL & EUL UK GAINED

Supplementary information to accompany the three year Annual Population Survey/Personal Well-being Dataset Please note, this information should be used alongside the ‘Personal Well-being Survey User Guide: 2014-2015 Dataset’. Rationale for Creation of the three year Personal Well-being (PWB) dataset A three year PWB dataset has been developed in response to user demand for more robust PWB data at low levels of geography, such as local authority district level (LAD). The three year PWB dataset will also allow for more robust analysis of the PWB of sub groups in the population. Methodology Background - the Annual Population Survey The estimates in the annual 'Personal Well-being in the UK' release are produced using a single year Annual Population Survey (APS) dataset which contains cases covering a 12 month period. The APS data comprises data from four Labour Force Survey (LFS) periods (waves one and five for the UK). Plus data collected from the annual Local (Area) Labour Force Survey (LLFS) (also known as the boost) for England, Wales and Scotland. For more information on the creation of the APS please see the LFS User guide volume 6: APS user guide. Creation of a three-year dataset When combining multiple APS datasets together, it is important to account for the rotational design of the APS and ensure that no person appears more than once in the multiple year dataset. This is because the PWB datasets are not designed to be longitudinal e.g. they are not designed to track individuals over time/be used for longitudinal analysis. They are instead cross-sectional, and are designed to use a cross-section of the population to make inferences about the whole population. For this reason, the three-year dataset has been designed to include only a selection of the cases from the individual year APS datasets, chosen in such a way that no individuals are included more than once, and the cases included are approximately equally spread across the three years. This is illustrated in the diagram below, where the dark red boxes are cases included in the three-year dataset and the light red boxes are cases which are normally included in a single year APS dataset, but which have been dropped from the multiple year dataset to avoid duplication.

UK Data Archive Study Number 7924 - Annual Population Survey: Personal Well-Being, April 2012 - March 2015

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/personal-well-being-in-the-uk--2014-15/index.html

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/personal-well-being-in-the-uk--2014-15/index.html

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/method-quality/specific/labour-market/labour-market-statistics/volume-6-aps-userguide.pdf

This dataset has been weighted to make it representative of the UK population, in a similar way to the single year datasets (a specific weight has been developed for use with the three year dataset). The multiple year dataset covers the three-year period April 2012 to March 2015. As this dataset is larger than a standard single year dataset, the sampling variability of estimates will be smaller, and it should be possible to do more robust analysis at lower levels of aggregation. It should be noted that although the sample size approximately doubles, the coefficients of variation are reduced by less than half. This is a standard result, increasing the sample size does not proportionately reduce standard errors. In general, doubling the sample size will reduce standard errors by around a quarter. How to access the three year PWB/APS dataset; The personal well-being three year dataset is available to GSS users through contacting the following email address: [email protected]. Non GSS users can access the dataset through applying for to the End User Licence or Special Licence versions of the dataset through the UK Data Archive under licensed access arrangements. Please contact the UK Data Archive for further information: http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/

mailto:[email protected]

Annexe 1 Additional variables available on the three year Personal Well-being dataset A full list of variables available on the Annual Population Survey/ Personal Well-being Three Year Dataset 2012-2015 are listed below. For full detail about these variables please see the LFS User guide volume 6: APS user guide and LFS User guide volume 3: Details of LFS variables. Note, overall there are fewer variables available on the three year PWB dataset than the one year datasets due to the increased size of the dataset to allow for faster data analysis. The additional variables have been added to the three year APS/PWB dataset following consultation with data users. In most cases, variables have only been retained on the dataset where the information is available for the entire three year period.

MAIN CHARACTERISTICS

AGEGRP Age groups

GSS, SL & EUL

DVAGE Age of respondent

GSS, SL & EUL

LIVWTH Whether living together as couple GSS & SL

MARDY6 Married/co-habiting/Civil Partners

GSS, SL & EUL

MARSTA Marital status

GSS, SL & EUL

SEX Sex of respondent

GSS, SL & EUL

NATIONALITY, NATIONAL IDENTITY, COUNTRY OF BIRTH

CAMEMT Month of most recent arrival to the UK

GSS, SL & EUL

CAMEYR Year of first arrival to UK

GSS, SL & EUL

CAMEYR2 Year of last arrival to the UK

GSS, SL & EUL

CRYOX7 Country of Birth - other GSS & SL

CRY12 Country of birth

GSS, SL & EUL

ETHNICITY

ETHUKEUL Ethnicity (9 categories) UK level GSS, SL &

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/method-quality/specific/labour-market/labour-market-statistics/volume-6-aps-userguide.pdf

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/method-quality/specific/labour-market/labour-market-statistics/volume-3-2015.pdf

EUL

ETHUK11 Ethnicity, UK level

GSS, SL & EUL

RELIGION

RELIG11 Religion GB level

GSS, SL & EUL

SUBJECTIVE WELL BEING

ANXIOUS How anxious yesterday

GSS, SL & EUL

HAPPY How happy did you feel yesterday

GSS, SL & EUL

SATIS Satisfied with your life

GSS, SL & EUL

WORTH How worthwhile things done in life are felt to be (overall)

GSS, SL & EUL

GEOGRAPHIES & RESIDENTIAL STATUS

CCG Clinical Commissioning Groups (2015) GSS only

CHP Community Health Partnerships GSS & SL

CTRY9D

GSS, SL & EUL

CTY County (England) GSS & SL

GOR9D Region

GSS, SL & EUL

HWB Health and Wellbeing Boards GSS & SL

LAUA Local authority district codes GSS & SL

LEP Local Enterprise Partnerships GSS & SL

LEP2 Local Enterprise Partnerships GSS & SL

LGD2014 LGD2014 GSS & SL

LHB Local Health Boards GSS & SL

LSOA01 2001 Census Lower Layer Super Output Area

GSS only

LSOA11 2011 Census Lower Layer Super Output Area

GSS only

MSOA01 2001 Census Middle Layer Super Output Area

GSS only

MSOA11 2011 Census Middle Layer Super Output Area

GSS only

PCODE Postcode GSS only

RU11IND 2011 Census Rural-urban classification GSS & SL

NUTS215CD 2015 NUTS, level 2 code GSS only

NUTS315CD 2015 NUTS, level 3 code GSS only

OA01 2001 Census Output Area GSS only

OA11 2011 Census Output Area GSS only

RESTME2 Length of time at address

GSS, SL & EUL

SAMELAD Live and work in same LAD GSS & SL

TTWA9D Travel-to-work-area (2007) GSS only

HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS

HRP Household Reference person Identity GSS only

LIVTOG Whether living together as a couple GSS & SL

LIVWTH Whether living together as couple GSS & SL

HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION

HDPCH19 No. of dep children in hhld under 19 GSS only

LLORD Landlord of accommodation

GSS, SL & EUL

NUMCH18 Num of dep children in fam under 19 GSS & SL

ICDM Main job industry code GSS only

TEN1 Accommodation details

GSS, SL & EUL

FAMILY CHARACTERISTICS

AYFL19 Age youngest child in family under 19 GSS & SL

FDPCH2 Num of dep children in fam under 2 GSS & SL

FDPCH4 Num of dep chdn in fam aged 2-4 GSS & SL

FDPCH9 Num of dep chdn in fam aged 5-9 GSS & SL

FMPLUS Total num of fam units with > 1 person GSS & SL

FUTYPE6 Type of family unit GSS & SL

BASIC ECONOMIC ACTIVITY

ILODEFR Economic activity (reported) from MM05 GSS, SL &

EUL

INECAC05 Basic economic activity (ILO definition) (reported)

GSS, SL & EUL

MAIN JOB

JOBTYP Permanent or temporary job

GSS, SL & EUL

PRIVATE OR PUBLIC SECTOR

PUBLICR Public or private sector (reported)

GSS, SL & EUL

OCCUPATION

SC10LMJ Major occupation group (last job)

GSS, SL & EUL

SC10MMJ Major occupation group (main job)

GSS, SL & EUL

SC10MMN Minor occupation group (main job)

GSS, SL & EUL

EMPLOYMENT STATUS

FTPT FT or PT (all in employment)

GSS, SL & EUL

FTPTW FT or PT (employees or S-employ only)

GSS, SL & EUL

FTPTWK Full-time or part-time in main job

GSS, SL & EUL

LOOK4 Lkng for pd wrk in 4 wks ending ref wk

GSS, SL & EUL

LOOKM111 Why looking for another job

GSS, SL & EUL


GSS, SL & EUL


GSS, SL & EUL

NSECMJ10 NS-SEC major group (SOC2010 based)

GSS, SL & EUL

YPTJOB Reason for part-time job

GSS, SL & EUL

ADDJOB Looking for new or additional job

GSS, SL & EUL

WHEN LEFT LAST JOB

DURUN2 Duration of ILO unemp - new ranges GSS,

SL & EUL

INDUSTRY IN LAST JOB SIC2007

INDE07M Industry sector in main job

GSS, SL & EUL

AVAILABILITY TO START WORK

LIKEWK Not looking but would like a paid job

GSS, SL & EUL

HOURS WORKED (MAIN JOB)

BACTHR Basic actual hours in main job GSS & SL

ACTHR Actual hours excluding overtime

GSS, SL & EUL

ACTPOT Actual hours of paid overtime

GSS, SL & EUL

ACTUOT Actual hours of unpaid overtime

GSS, SL & EUL

TOTHRS Total hrs worked in reference wk

GSS, SL & EUL

TTUSHR Total usual hours in main job

GSS, SL & EUL

HOME WORKERS (MAIN JOB)

HOME Whether mainly work from home (main job)

GSS, SL & EUL

SECOND JOB

ACTHR2 2nd job actual hours including overtime

GSS, SL & EUL

BENEFITS

BENFTS Whether claiming (other) state benefits

GSS, SL, & EUL

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

LEARN4 Learning undertaken within the past 4 weeks

GSS & SL

QUALIFICATIONS

EDAGECOR Age when compltd cont. FT education

GSS, SL & EUL

UK GAINED QUALIFICATIONS

HIQUL11D Highest qualification (detailed grouping)

GSS, SL & EUL

HEALTH

LERND Learning difficulty or learning disabili GSS only

LIMITA Whether health prob affect amount work

GSS, SL & EUL

LIMITK Whether health prob affect kind of work

GSS, SL & EUL

QHEALTH1 Respondent's general health

GSS, SL & EUL

SMOKING

CIGNOW Smoke cigarettes nowadays

GSS, SL & EUL

CIGSMK1 Smoking Status (ever smoked)

GSS, SL & EUL

SMOKEVER Ever smoked a cigarette/cigar/pipe

GSS, SL & EUL

INCOME

GRSSWK Gross weekly pay in main job

GSS, SL & EUL

SYSTEM VARIABLES

CASE Anonymous Case Number

GSS, SL & EUL

INTRTYPE Type of Interview

GSS, SL & EUL

IOUTCOME Individual outcome

GSS, SL & EUL

IOUTDATE IOutDate

GSS, SL & EUL

REFWKD Reference week day

GSS, SL & EUL

REFWKM Reference week month

GSS, SL & EUL

WEEK Week no. when interview took place

GSS, SL & EUL

ADDRESS FEATURES BLOCK

PROXY Interview in person or by proxy

GSS, SL & EUL

DWELLTYP Type of accommodation

GSS, SL & EUL

WEIGHTS

NP122R14 Well-being weight/Non-proxy adult weight

GSS, SL &

EUL

For additional information please see Supplementary information to accompany the three year Annual Population Survey/Personal Well-being Dataset 2011-2014.

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/method-quality/specific/social-and-welfare-methodology/subjective-wellbeing-survey-user-guide/supplementary-information.pdf

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/method-quality/specific/social-and-welfare-methodology/subjective-wellbeing-survey-user-guide/supplementary-information.pdf

Statisticalbulletin:

MeasuringNationalWell-being:PersonalWell-beingintheUK,2014to2015PersonalWell-beingfindingsfromtheAnnualPopulationSurvey,withanalysisbycountry,regionandlocalareasandindividualcharacteristics.

Contact:LucyTinkler

Releasedate:23September2015

Nextrelease:Tobeannounced

Tableofcontents1. Mainpoints

2. Summary

3. Measuringpersonalwell-beingintheUK

4. Personalwell-beingacrossUKcountries

5. Personalwell-beingintheEnglishregions

6. Personalwell-beinginlocalareasoftheUK

7. Usesofthedata

8. Methodology

9. TheMeasuringNationalWell-beingprogramme

10. Furtherinformation

11. References

12. Backgroundnotes

MainpointsReportedpersonalwell-beinghasimprovedeveryyearsincefinancialyearending2012whendatawerefirstcollected,suggestingthatanincreasingnumberofpeopleintheUKarefeelingpositiveabouttheirlives

Proportionsreportingthehighestlevelsofpersonalwell-beinghaveincreasedsincethefinancialyearending2012foreachofthe4measuresconsidered.Thegreatestimprovementhasbeenforlevelsofanxiety

Theproportionofpeopleratingtheirwell-beingatthelowestlevelsforall4ofthemeasureshasreduced,butnotasmuchastheproportionreportinghighlevelshasgrown

PeopleinNorthernIrelandgavehigheraverageratingsforpersonalwell-beingforallmeasuresexceptanxietycomparedtotheother3UKcountries(basedonfiguresbeforerounding).Thishasbeenthecaseineveryyearsincedatawerefirstcollected

PeopleinLondonreportedlowerpersonalwell-beingonaverageforeachofthemeasuresthantheequivalentUKaverages,butLondonhasseenimprovementsacrossalltheaveragemeasuresofpersonalwell-being,particularlyinreductionstoanxietysincedatawerefirstcollected

Sincethefinancialyearending2012,averageratingsofpersonalwell-beinghaveimprovedsignificantlyacrossallmeasuresintheWestMidlands.TheregionalsohadthelowestaverageanxietyratingofanyEnglishregioninfinancialyearending2015

WaleswastheonlyUKcountrythatdidnothaveanysignificantpositiveimprovementsbetweenthefinancialyearending2014andthelatestestimatesacrossanyofthemeasuresforaverageratings

TheNorthWestofEnglandreportedincreasesintherateofpersonalwell-beingfor3outof4ofthemeasures,comparedwiththefinancialyearending2014

TheNorthEastandYorkshireandTheHumberweretheonly2Englishregionswithnosignificantreductionsinlowlevelsofwell-beingacrossanyofthepersonalwell-beingmeasurescomparedwiththefinancialyearending2014

1.

SummaryReportedpersonalwell-beinghasbeenimprovingeveryyearsincefinancialyearending2012,whenwestartedtocollectthedataacrossall4measures.

2.

Comparingtheaverageratingsforthefinancialyearending2015withthepreviousyearforeachofthe4measuresofpersonalwell-being:

lifesatisfactionwas7.6outof10(up0.10points)

feelingthatwhatonedoesinlifeisworthwhilewas7.8outof10(up0.08points)

happinessyesterdaywas7.5outof10(up0.08points)

anxietyyesterdaywas2.9outof10(down0.07points)

Theyear-on-yeardifferencesaresmallbutstatisticallysignificantineachcase.Theproportionofpeoplegivingthehighestratings(scoresof9or10outof10forlifesatisfaction,worthwhileandhappiness,and0to1outof10foranxiety)foreachmeasureofpersonalwell-beingalsoincreasedsignificantlyinfinancialyearending2015.

Additionally,theproportionsofpeoplereportingpersonalwell-beingatthelowestlevels(scoresof0to4forlifesatisfaction,worthwhileandhappinessandratingsof6to10foranxiety)reduced,althoughthedecreasesinlowwell-beingweresmallcomparedwiththeimprovementsinthehighestratings.

Thisisimportantbecauseitindicatesthatwhileimprovementsarewidespreadacrossthepopulation,theyareuneven.Theproportionreportingveryhighpersonalwell-beingisgrowingfasterthantheproportionreportinglowlevelsisfalling.Thisindicatesincreasinginequalityinpersonalwell-being.

Alsoreleasedtoday,23September2015:

Interactivemaps(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/external-links/about-statistics/wellbeing/personal-well-being-across-the-uk-interactive-map.html)forexploringthepersonalwell-beingestimatesinlocalareasoftheUK

Shortstoryexploringpersonalwell-beingandtenure(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/personal-well-being-in-the-uk--2014-15/sty-personal-well-being-and-housing-tenure.html).

FormoreinformationonNationalWell-beingpleaseseeNationalWell-beingInteractiveWheel(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/external-links/other-ns-online/neighbourhood-statistics--ness-/national-well-being-interactive-wheel.html)andMeasuringNationalWell-being-DomainsandMeasures-September2015-September2015duetobepublishedon29thSeptember2015.

Measuringpersonalwell-beingintheUK3.

ThisbulletinispublishedaspartofourMeasuringNationalWell-beingprogramme.Itpresentsannualestimatesofpersonalwell-beingindifferentareasoftheUKforthefinancialyearending2015.Italsocomparesthelatestresultstoourpreviouspersonalwell-beingestimatescoveringthesameperiodsinfinancialyearsending2014,2013,and2012(ONS2014a(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/personal-well-being-in-the-uk--2013-14/index.html);ONS2013a(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/personal-well-being-in-the-uk--2012-13/index.html),ONS2012(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-subjective-wellbeing-in-the-uk/first-annual-ons-experimental-subjective-well-being-results/index.html)).Thelatestestimatesofpersonalwell-beingamongpeoplewithdifferentcharacteristicsorcircumstancesareincludedinthereferencetables(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-407641)withthisrelease.

Thepersonalwell-beingestimatesinthisbulletinarebasedondatafromtheAnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)withresponsestothepersonalwell-beingquestionsfromaround165,000people.Thisprovidesalargerepresentativesampleofadultsaged16andoverlivinginresidentialhouseholdsintheUK.

Personalwell-being,people'sthoughtsandfeelingsabouttheirownqualityoflife,isanimportantaspectofnationalwell-being.ItispartofamuchwiderinitiativeintheUKandinternationallytolookbeyondGrossDomesticProduct(GDP),andtomeasurewhatreallymatterstopeople.Weregularlymonitor41differentheadlinemeasuresinareassuchasthenaturalenvironment,ourrelationships,health,whatwedo,wherewelive,personalfinances,theeconomy,educationandskills,governanceandpersonalwell-beingtomeasuretheprogressandwell-beingofthenation.ThelatestupdatestotheseheadlinemeasureswillbeavailableinMeasuringNationalWellbeing-DomainsandMeasures,releasedbytheendofSeptember2015.Section7providesfurtherinformationabouthowthewell-beingdataareused.

TheUKStatisticsAuthorityhasdesignatedourpersonalwell-beingstatisticsasNationalStatistics,signifyingcompliancewiththeCodeofPracticeforOfficialStatistics.

Thismeansthatthesestatistics:

meetidentifieduserneeds

arewellexplainedandreadilyaccessible

areproducedaccordingtosoundmethods

aremanagedimpartiallyandobjectivelyinthepublicinterest

ItisastatutoryrequirementthattheCodeofPracticeshallcontinuetobeobserved

3.1Howpersonalwell-beingismeasuredWebeganmeasuringpersonalwell-beinginApril2011.Sincethen,theAnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)hasincluded4questionswhichareusedtomonitorpersonalwell-beingintheUK:

1. Overall,howsatisfiedareyouwithyourlifenowadays?

2. Overall,towhatextentdoyoufeelthethingsyoudoinyourlifeareworthwhile?

3. Overall,howhappydidyoufeelyesterday?

4. Overall,howanxiousdidyoufeelyesterday?

Peopleareaskedtogivetheiranswersonascaleof0to10,where0is“notatall”and10is“completely”.Thesequestionsallowpeopletomakeanassessmentoftheirlifeoverall,aswellasprovidinganindicationoftheirday-to-dayemotions.Although“yesterday”maynotbeatypicaldayforanindividual,thelargesamplemeansthatthesedifferences“averageout”andprovideareliableassessmentoftheself-reportedanxietyandhappinessoftheadultpopulationintheUKovertheyear.

Sincetheintroductionofthese4questionstheyhavebeenintroducedinover20othersurveysacrossgovernmentandnumeroussurveysintheacademic,privateandthirdsector.

Itisimportanttorememberthatthefindingspresentedarebasedonsurveyestimatesandaresubjecttoadegreeofuncertainty.Therefore,theyshouldbeinterpretedasprovidingagoodestimate,ratherthananexactmeasureofpersonalwell-beingintheUK.Formoreinformationabouthowthestatisticsareproducedandimplicationsfortheaccuracyoftheestimates,seetheMethodologysection(section8).

Differencesinthepersonalwell-beingestimatesovertimearedescribedonlywheretheyarestatisticallysignificant.Thatiswherethechangeisnotlikelytobeonlyduetovariationsinsampling,buttoarealchangeovertime.A5%standardisused,whichmeansthatthereisnomorethana5%chancethatadifferencewillbeclassifiedassignificantwheninfactthereisnounderlyingchange.Thecountryandregionalestimatesforfinancialyearending2015arecomparedtotheequivalentestimatesfortheUKanddiscussedonlywhereastatisticallysignificantdifferenceisfound.

Figure1:Distributionofpersonalwell-beingratings,financialyearsending2012to2015(1)-LifeSatisfaciton

UnitedKingdom

Source:AnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)-OfficeforNationalStatistics

Notes:Adults aged16andoverwereasked:"Overall,howsatis fiedareyouwithyourlifenowadays?""Overall,towhatextentdoyoufeelthethingsyoudoinyourlifeareworthwhile?""Overall,howhappydidyoufeelyesterday?""Overall,howanxiousdidyoufeelyesterday?"Where0is "notatall"and10is "completely"

1.

Figure1:Distributionofpersonalwell-beingratings,financialyearsending2012to2015(1)-Worthwhile

UnitedKingdom



1.

Figure1:Distributionofpersonalwell-beingratings,financialyearsending2012to2015(1)-Happiness

UnitedKingdom



1.

Figure1:Distributionofpersonalwell-beingratings,financialyearsending2012to2015(1)-Anxiety

UnitedKingdom


Notes:

PeopleintheUKtendtoratetheirlifesatisfaction,feelingthatwhattheydoinlifeisworthwhileandhappinessatthehighendofthescale.Thisindicatesthatpeopletendtoanswertowardstheendofthe0-10scaleforthesemeasures.Peoplemostcommonlyratedeachofthesequestionsat8outof10.Ahigherproportionratedtheirlifesatisfactionandfeelingsthatwhattheydoinlifeareworthwhileat8outof10(justover30%ineachcase)thanratedtheirhappinesslevelsthisway(justunder25%).

Adults aged16andoverwereasked:"Overall,howsatis fiedareyouwithyourlifenowadays?""Overall,towhatextentdoyoufeelthethingsyoudoinyourlifeareworthwhile?""Overall,howhappydidyoufeelyesterday?""Overall,howanxiousdidyoufeelyesterday?"Where0is "notatall"and10is "completely"

1.

Thepatternforhowpeopleratetheiranxietyisdifferenttotheotherquestions.Fortheanxietyquestionthescaleisreversedasascoreof10outof10indicatesthehighestpossibleanxiety,andascoreof0outof10indicatesthelowestpossibleanxiety.Comparedtotheother3measures,amuchhigherproportionofpeopleratetheiranxietyatthelowerendofthescale(as0or1),butmorealsoratetheiranxietylevelsinthemiddleofthescale(as5outof10).Ineachyear,themajorityofpeopleratedtheiranxietyatalowlevelbetween0and3.Themostcommonresponsewas0outof10,whichindicatesthattheyfelt“notatallanxious”onthepreviousday.

Thispatternofpersonalwell-beingratingsintheUKhasbeenfairlyconsistentforeachofthe4yearswithsmall(butstatisticallysignificant)increasesemergingyear-on-year.

3.3Averageratingsofpersonalwell-beingintheUKAverageratingsofpersonalwell-beingareasimplewaytomakecomparisonsovertime.Theaverageratingsforeachofthe4measuresofpersonalwell-beinginthefinancialyearending2015comparedwiththepreviousyear:

lifesatisfactionwas7.6pointsoutof10(up0.10points)

feelingthatwhatonedoesinlifeisworthwhilewas7.8outof10for(up0.08points)

happinessyesterdaywas7.5outof10(up0.08points)

anxietyyesterdaywas2.9outof10(down0.07points)

Thelatestestimatessuggestimprovementinthepastyearintheaverageratingsofpersonalwell-beingintheUKacrossallofthemeasures.Theyear-on-yeardifferencesaresmallbutstatisticallysignificantineachcase.

Comparingthelatestaverageestimateswiththosefromfinancialyearending2012,therehavealsobeensmallbutsignificantimprovementsinpersonalwell-beingacrossall4measures(asshowninFigure2).

Figure2:ChangeinaverageannualUKpersonalwell-beingratingsbetweenthefinancialyearending2012and2015

UnitedKingdom


Notes:

1. *Indicatesastatisticallys ignificantdifferencefrom2011/12atthe0.05level

2. +Indicatesastatisticallys ignificantdifferencefrom2012/13atthe0.05level

3. ~Indicatesastatisticallys ignificantdifferencefrom2013/14atthe0.05level

ThecontinuedsignificantimprovementsintheUKareinteresting,especiallywhenviewedinthecontextofEurobarometerestimatesfortheUKforlifesatisfactionwhichhaveshownproportionswithhighlifesatisfactiontobebroadlystableover35yearsbutwithsimilarincreasesinrecentyears(CabinetOffice,2014(https://coanalysis.blog.gov.uk/2014/08/06/wellbeing-measuring-what-matters/)).

3.4Highestandlowestpersonalwell-beingintheUKAverageratingsofpersonalwell-beingprovideausefulsummary,butdonottellthewholestory.AnimportantconsiderationiswhethertheproportionsofpeopleintheUKwhoratedtheirpersonalwell-beingatthehighestandlowestlevelsinfinancialyearending2015,comparedtofinancialyearending2014,andfinancialyearending2012haschangedovertime.Thishelpsustoseewhethertheoverallimprovementinaveragepersonalwell-beinghasresultedfromincreasesinpeoplereportingpersonalwell-beingatthehighestlevels,and/orreductionsintheproportionsofpeoplereportingpersonalwell-beingatthelowestlevels.Inotherwords,thishelpsustounderstandifimprovementsinpersonalwell-beingarearesultofraisingtheceilingandorliftingthefloor.Thisisimportantasithasimplicationsforhowequalthedistributionofpersonalwell-beingisinsociety.

3.4.1Measuring“highest”and“lowest”personalwell-being

Thehighestlevelsofpersonalwell-beingforlifesatisfaction,worthwhileandhappinessaredefinedasratingsof9or10.Forreportedanxiety,ratingsof0or1areused,becauselowerlevelsofanxietysuggestbetterpersonalwell-being.Ontheotherhand,lowestlevelsofpersonalwell-beingaredefinedasratingsof0to4forlifesatisfaction,worthwhileandhappiness.Forreportedanxiety,ratingsof6to10areused,becausehigherlevelsofanxietysuggestlowerpersonalwell-being.Itisparticularlyimportanttolookatconcentrationsoflowlevelsofpersonalwell-beingovertimesothatpolicymakerscantargetandmeasureinterventionsdesignedtoreducetheproportionsofpeoplewithlowlevelsofpersonalwell-being.

3.4.2Highestandlowestpersonalwell-beingintheUK,financialyearending2015

Figure3showsthepercentagesofpeopleintheUKreportingthehighestandlowestlevelsofwell-beinginfinancialyearending2015andhowthishaschangedsincefinancialyearending2012.

Thereportedhighestandlowestwell-beingforfinancialyearending2015:

28.8%ratedtheirlifesatisfactionatthehighestlevelscomparedto4.8%atthelowest

34.4%ratedtheirsensethatwhattheydoinlifeisworthwhileatthehighestlevels,comparedto3.8%atthelowest

34.1%ratedtheirhappinessatthehighestlevels,while8.9%ratedtheirhappinessatthelowest

40.9%ratedtheiranxietyatthelowestlevels,while19.4%rateditatthehighestlevels

Figure3:Percentagesratingpersonalwell-beingathighestandlowestlevels,financialyearsending2012to2015

UnitedKingdom


3.4.3Changesovertimeinhighestandlowestpersonal

Lowest and Hi,hest Reported W e ll ·bein,

lowWell · bein.o: ,."",,_ """" ~I '_I""'o' ... " .... ~I

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2011/12

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2014/ 15 ~:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 2OB/14 . t; •

2012/13 . 0 ,.

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l1. 4"

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well-beingintheUK

Theproportionofpeoplegivingthehighestratingsforeachaspectofpersonalwell-beingincreasedsignificantlyinfinancialyearending2015comparedtothepreviousyear.Thebiggestchangesinpercentagepointswereforlifesatisfaction(up2.0)andworthwhile(up1.9).ThissuggeststhatmorepeopleintheUKarefeelingpositiveabouttheirlives,andisconsistentwiththehigheraverageratingsofpersonalwell-beingnotedintheprevioussection.

Thispositivepictureisalsoreflectedinsignificantdecreasesintheproportionsofpeoplereportinglowwell-beingacrossall4measuresbetweenfinancialyearending2015andthepreviousyear,althoughthechangesaresmallerthanfortheincreasesintheproportionsofpeoplegivingthehighestratings.

Lookingathowratingshavechangedoverthe4yearperiod,therehavebeenstatisticallysignificantgainsintheproportionsofpeoplereportingveryhighpersonalwell-beingforeachofthe4measuresinfinancialyearending2015comparedtofinancialyearending2012,particularlyforimprovementsinlowlevelsofanxiety.

3.5Possiblereasonsforthepersonalwell-beingpatternsobservedintheUKThelatestpictureofpersonalwell-being,similartofindingslastyear,isofmorepositivewell-beingacrossallofthe4measuresinfinancialyearending2015comparedtobothfinancialyearending2014andfinancialyearending2012,whenwestartedtocollectpersonalwell-beingdata.Thisimprovementappearstohaveresultedmorefromtheproportionsofpeoplereportingthehighestlevelsofpersonalwell-beinggrowing,thanbyreductionsinpeoplereportinglowlevelsofpersonalwell-being.Thisisimportantasithasimplicationsforhowequalthedistributionofpersonalwell-beinginsocietyis,andsuggestsgrowinginequalityinreportedpersonalwell-being.

Thisisonlythefourthyearwehavecollectedpersonalwell-beingdata,soitistooearlytoidentifydefinitetrendsovertime.However,onereasonfortheoverallsmallimprovementinpersonalwell-beingoverthepastyearmaybetheeconomicoutlookinfinancialyearending2015comparedwithfinancialyearending2014.ONSeconomicdatashowsthatunemploymenthasbeenonadownwardstrendsincethebeginningof2013andfellto5.5%inthe3monthstoMarch2015(ONS2015a(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/elmr/economic-review/august-2015/index.html)).Ourresearch(ONS2013b(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-subjective-wellbeing-in-the-uk/first-annual-ons-experimental-subjective-well-being-results/index.html))andacademicsources(Blanchfloweretal,2013(http://www.bostonfed.org/employment2013/papers/Blanchflower_Session5.pdf))hasshownthatunemploymenthasanegativeeffectonpersonalwell-being,thereforethisfindingistobeexpected.

Additionally,researchintopersonalwell-beinghasfoundthat“periodsofrapidchange...areoftenassociatedwithdropsinhappiness”(Grahametal.,2015).Itcouldbethattherapidchangesthatoccurredwiththeeconomicdownturnin2008-2009werebeingfeltmorestronglyinfinancialyearending2012,andthegreaterstabilityinfinancialyearending2015couldbeoneofthereasonsforanimprovementinpersonalwell-beingoverthisperiod.Lookingatthe4measuressincefinancialyearending2012,thebiggestimprovementhasbeenforanxiety.However,aspersonalwell-beingdatawasnotcollectedpriortotheeconomicdownturnitisnotpossibletodeterminewithaccuracytheeffectofthedownturnonpersonalwell-beingmeasures.

Lookingatthe4countriesoftheUK(seesection4)andEnglishregions(seesection5),wecanseethatnotallcountriesandregionsareseeingthepositiveimprovementstopersonalwell-beingatthesamerate,andsomeareashaveimprovedmorethanothers.Forexample,WaleswastheonlyUKcountrythatdidnothaveanysignificantpositiveimprovementsinaveragepersonalwell-beingbetweenfinancialyearsending2014and2015acrossanyofthemeasures.

InsomeEnglishregionstheproportionofpeoplereportingverylowwell-beingremainedlargelystaticbetweenfinancialyearsending2014and2015.Forexample,theNorthEastandYorkshireandTheHumberweretheonly2Englishregionswithnosignificantimprovementinlowlevelsofwell-beingacross2outofthe4measures(seesection5.4).

Onepossiblereasonfortheslowerimprovementinpersonalwell-beingforsomeareascouldbedifferingeconomicsituations,forexample,fromFebruarytoApril2015unemploymentintheUKwashighestintheNorthEastat7.4%,andsecondhighestinYorkshireandTheHumberat6.9%(ONS,2015b(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/subnational-labour/regional-labour-market-statistics/june-2015/index.html)).

TheNorthWestwastheEnglishregionthathadthelargestaverageimprovementsforlifesatisfaction,worthwhileandhappinesswhencomparingfinancialyearending2015andfinancialyearending2014.Duringthefinancialyearending2015therehasbeendiscussionaboutthe‘NorthernPowerhouse’proposaltoboosteconomicgrowthintheNorthofEngland.ItcouldbethatthisproposalhascontributedtoafeelingofoptimismintheNorthWest.

TheWestMidlandshadthelargestaverageimprovementsinaveragelifesatisfaction,worthwhileandhappinessbetweenfinancialyearending2012andfinancialyearending2015.TheWestMidlandshadthethirdlargestpercentagepointdecreaseintheunemploymentrate(thoseaged16andover)betweenfinancialyearsending2012and2015comparedtotheotherEnglishregions(ONS2015c(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/subnational-labour/regional-labour-market-statistics/july-2015/index.html)).HMRCdatashowsthattheWestMidlandswastheregionwiththelargestincreaseinthevalueofexportsbetweenthefirstquarterof2012andthefirstquarterof2015(HMRC2015(https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/RTS/Pages/default.aspx))whichaswellaspotentiallycontributingtoreducingunemployment,mayhavecontributedtoimprovedfeelingsofoptimism.

Betweenthefinancialyearsending2012and2015averagereportedanxietylevelshavedecreasedthemostinLondon,althoughLondon,jointlywiththeNorthEast,stillhasthehighestreportedaverageanxietyofalltheEnglishregionsandcountriesoftheUK.

Personalwell-beingacrossUKcountriesThissectionexaminesthelatestfindingsonpersonalwell-beingacrossUKcountries.

4.1Averagereportedpersonalwell-beinginUKcountriesFigure4showsthelatestaverageratingsofpersonalwell-beingacrosstheUKcountriesandhowtheycomparetotheUKaverages.

Infinancialyearending2015:

NorthernIrelandhadthehighestaveragereportedratingforlifesatisfactionintheUK(7.9outof10),andwastheonlycountrytobesignificantlyhigherthantheUKaverage

WaleswastheonlycountrytohavereportedsignificantlylowerlifesatisfactionthantheUKasawhole(7.55comparedwith7.61)1

NorthernIrelandwastheonlycountrywherereportedaverageratingsforworthwhile(8.1),weresignificantlyabovetheUKaverage;WaleswastheonlycountrywhereaveragereportingratingsforworthwhileweresignificantlybelowUKaverage(UK7.82,Wales7.77)1

4.

NorthernIrelandhadhighestaveragereportedhappiness(7.8),andagain,wastheonlycountrywherethismeasurewassignificantlyhigherthantheUKaverage

averagereportedanxietyinEnglandandWaleswasthesameastheUKaverageat2.9,bothScotlandandNorthernIrelandhadslightlyloweraverageanxietyat2.8;althoughnoneofthe4countrieshadasignificantlydifferentaverageanxietycomparedtotheUKasawhole

NorthernIrelandhadthehighestreportedpersonalwell-beingfor3outofthe4measures;Waleshadthelowestreportedaveragefor3outofthe4measures

Figure4:Averagepersonalwell-beingratingscomparedtoUKaverages:bycountry,financialyearending2015

UnitedKingdom


Notes:

1. *Indicatesastatisticallys ignificantdifferencedeterminedonthebasis ofnon-overlappingconfidenceintervals

4.2Changesovertimeinaveragereportedpersonalwell-beingintheUKcountriesWhencomparingthelatestaverageestimatesforeachcountrytothepreviousyear’sestimates,asshowninFigure5,importantpointsinclude:

England,ScotlandandNorthernIrelandallhadsignificantimprovementsintheaverageestimatesforlifesatisfaction

EnglandandScotlandhadsignificantimprovementsinratingsforthethingsthatwedoinlifebeingworthwhileandforhappiness

Englandwastheonlycountrywithsignificantreductionsinanxietylevels

Waleswastheonlycountrythatdidnothaveanysignificantpositiveimprovementsbetweenfinancialyearending2015andthepreviousyearacrossanyofthemeasures

Theaverageratingsofpersonalwell-beinginWalesdidnotimprovebetweenfinancialyearending2014andfinancialyearending2015.However,WalesreportedthegreatestimprovementsacrosstheUKintheprecedingperiod,financialyearending2013tofinancialyearending2014,forallpersonalwell-beingmeasuresexceptanxiety.

Sincefinancialyearending2012,whenwefirstcollectedthepersonalwell-beingdata,therehavebeenstatisticallysignificantimprovementsacrossallofthemeasuresandineachoftheUKcountries.Thisistobeexpectedgiventheoverallimprovementinpersonalwell-beingfortheUKasawholeduringthisperiod.

Figure5:AnnualchangeinaverageUKpersonalwell-beingratingscomparedfromthefinancialyearending2012,bycountry

UnitedKingdom


Notes:




4.3Highestandlowestratingsofpersonalwell-beingacrossUKcountries

Thissectionprovidesthelatestestimatesoftheproportionsofpeopleineachcountryreportingthehighestandlowestlevelsofpersonalwell-being.

Concentrationsofhighestwell-beingacrosstheUKcountriesinthefinancialyearending2015:

infinancialyearending2015,England,ScotlandandWalesallhadsimilarproportionsofpeoplereportingthehighestlevelsoflifesatisfaction,andhappiness

EnglandandWaleshadsimilarproportionsofpeoplereportingaveryhighsensethatthethingsthattheydointheirlivesareworthwhile,whileScotlandhadasignificantlylowerscorethantheequivalentproportionfortheUKasawhole

NorthernIrelandhadthehighestpercentagesofpeopleratingtheirlifesatisfaction,sensethatthethingstheydointheirlivesareworthwhileandhappinessasveryhigh;itwastheonlycountrythathadsignificantlyhigherproportionstotheequivalentproportionfortheUKforlifesatisfaction,worthwhileandhappiness,forexample,45.0%ofpeopleinNorthernIrelandratedthethingstheydoinlifeasworthwhileasa9or10,comparedto34.4%intheUKasawhole

Concentrationsoflowestwell-beingacrosstheUKcountriesinthefinancialyearending2015:

Waleswastheonlycountrywiths ignificantlyhigherproportionsofpeoplewithlowerlifesatis faction,lowersensethatthethingstheydointheirlivesareworthwhileaswellashigherproportionsofpeoplereportinghighlevels ofanxietycomparedtotheUKaverage

4.4Changesovertimeinhighestandlowestpersonalwell-beingacrosstheUKcountriesComparingthelatestestimatesofhighestwell-beingforeachcountrytothefinancialyearending2014estimates:

allcountries,exceptScotland,hadsignificantincreasesintheproportionsofpeoplereportingveryhighlifesatisfaction

EnglandandScotlandhadsignificantincreasesintheproportionsofpeoplereportingaveryhighsensethatthethingsthattheydoinlifeareworthwhile

EnglandandScotlandhadsignificantincreasesintheproportionsofpeoplereportingveryhighhappiness

Englandwastheonlycountrythathadanincreaseintheproportionsofpeoplereportingverylowanxietycomparedwithfinancialyearending2014

Comparingthelatestestimatesoflowestwell-beingforeachcountrytothefinancialyearending2014estimates:

ForEnglandandNorthernIrelandtheproportionsofpeoplereportingverylowlifesatisfactionbetweenfinancialyearending2014andfinancialyearending2015hadsignificantlyreduced

Englandwastheonlycountrywhichhadasignificantreductioninthelowestratingsforpeople’ssensethatthethingswedoinlifeareworthwhile,happiness,andanxiety

Thisisinterestingasitsuggeststhattheimprovementsinaveragescores,particularlyforScotlandandWales,haveresultedmorefromanincreaseinpeoplereportingveryhighpersonalwell-being,thanbyadecreaseinpeoplereportinglowwell-being.

Sincefinancialyearending2012,whenwefirstcollectedwell-beingdata,therehavebeenchangesinthelowestandhighestpersonalwell-beingratingsineachUKcountry(asshowninFigure6).Thesechangesinclude:

England,WalesandNorthernIrelandallhadsignificantimprovementsintheproportionsofpeoplereportingveryhighlifesatisfaction

allcountries,exceptWales,hadasignificantimprovementintheproportionsofpeopleratingthethingsthattheydoinlifeareworthwhileasveryhigh

allcountrieshadsignificantimprovementsintheproportionsofpeoplereportingveryhighhappinessandverylowanxiety

Changesintheproportionsofpeoplereportinglowestwell-beingsincethefinancialyearendingin2012:

theproportionsofpeopleratinglifesatisfactionandhappinessasverylowhadsignificantlyreducedinall4countries

theproportionsofpeoplereportingthattheirsensethatthethingstheydoinlifeareworthwhileatthelowestlevelssignificantlyreducedforallcountriesexceptWales

theproportionsofpeoplereportingveryhighanxietysignificantlyreducedforallcountriesexceptNorthernIreland,however,itshouldbenotedthatNorthernIrelandhashadthelowestproportionsofpeoplereportinghighanxietyforeachyearsincefinancialyearending2012comparedtoEngland,ScotlandandWales

Figure6:Percentagesratingpersonalwell-beingathighestandlowestlevels,bycountry

Comparingthefinancialyearending2012andthefinancialyearending2015,UnitedKingdom

Source:AnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)-Officefor

low Well-being

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NotesforPersonalwell-beingacrossUKcountries

1. displayedto2decimalplacestoshowdifference

Personalwell-beingintheEnglishregionsThissectionfocusesonpersonalwell-beingacrosstheEnglishregionsinfinancialyearending2015andchangesovertime.Ourpreviousanalysis(ONS2013c(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/personal-well-being-in-the-uk--2012-13/index.html))foundthatarangeofcharacteristicsrelatingtoindividualsandwheretheylive,theregionwheretheylivein,andwhethertheyliveinanurbanorruralareaarerelatedtopersonalwell-being.However,theeffectisnotasstrongasotheraspectsoflife,suchasemploymentsituationorhealth,forexample.Asthedifferencesbetweenregionsmaynotbestatisticallysignificant,comparisonsaremadebetweeneachregionandtheequivalentUKfigure.TheyarecommentedononlywherethereisastatisticallysignificantdifferencebetweentheregionalandtheUKfigure(theMethodologysectionhasmoreinformation).

Asdiscussedinsection3.5notallEnglishregionsareseeingthepositiveimprovementstopersonalwell-beingatthesamerate,andsomeareashaveimprovedmorethanothers.

5.1Averagepersonalwell-beingratingsintheEnglishregionsTheaveragereportedratingsacrosstheregionsforeachmeasureofpersonalwell-beinginfinancialyearending2015areshowninFigure7,aswellashowtheycomparetotheUKaverages.RegionswherereportedaverageratingsweresignificantlyabovetheUKaveragesinclude:

theSouthWestandSouthEastreportedsignificantlyhigheraverageratingsoflifesatisfaction(both7.7),additionallytheSouthEastwastheonlyEnglishregionwhichreportedsignificantlyhighersensethatthingstheydoinlifeareworthwhile(7.9)andhappiness(7.5)

theWestMidlandswastheregionwiththelowestlevelsofreportedaverageanxiety(2.6)

RegionswhereaverageratingsweresignificantlybelowtheUKaveragesinclude:

5.

LondonandYorkshireandTheHumberhadthelowestreportedlifesatisfaction(7.5),Londonwasamongthelowestforpeoplereportingalowsensethatthingswedoinlifeareworthwhile,alongwiththeNorthEast(7.7)

theNorthEast,NorthWestandLondonreportedsignificantlylowerhappinessratingsthantheUKaverage

theNorthEast,London,andYorkshireandTheHumberreportedsignificantlyhigheranxietylevels

Figure7:Averagepersonalwell-beingratingscomparedtoUKaverages:byEnglishregion,financialyearending2015

UnitedKingdom


Notes:

1. *Indicatesastatisticallys ignificantdifferencedeterminedonthebasis ofnon-overlappingconfidenceintervals

5.2Changesovertimeinaveragepersonalwell-beingratingsintheEnglishregions

Comparingthelatestaverageestimatesforeachregiontothefinancialyearending2014estimates:

theNorthWesthadthebiggestreportedimprovementforaveragelifesatisfaction,worthwhileandhappiness

allregionsexceptYorkshireandTheHumberhadasignificantimprovementinaveragelifesatisfactionratings

allregionsexcepttheNorthEast,EastMidlandsandtheWestMidlandshadsignificantlyimprovedaverageratingsforthethingswedoinlifebeingworthwhile

foraveragehappinessthepicturewasmoremixedwith5outofthe9Englishregionsreportedasignificantimprovementinhappinesslevelsincluding:theNorthWest,EastMidlands,EastofEngland,SouthEastandSouthWest;therewasnosignificantimprovementsforLondon,theWestMidlands,YorkshireandTheHumberandtheNorthEast

onlytheEastofEnglandandLondonreportedsignificantreductionsinaverageratingsforanxiety;Londonhadthelargestreduction,althoughithasoneofthehighestaverageanxietylevelsoverall

Theonly4regionswherepositivechangeswerenotseenforatleast2outofthe4measuresweretheNorthEast,WestMidlands,EastMidlandsandYorkshireandTheHumber.

Sincefinancialyearending2012,whenwefirstcollectedthesedata,alloftheEnglishregionshavereportedsignificantincreasesinlifesatisfaction,happinessandworthwhile,andreductionsinaverageanxiety.Thisistobeexpectedgiventheoverallimprovementinpersonalwell-beingintheUKasawhole.Theregionwhichhasseenthebiggestaverageimprovementforlifesatisfaction,worthwhileandhappinesswastheWestMidlands.PeopleinLondonreportedthebiggestreductioninaverageanxietylevelsoverthisperiod.

Figure8:Annualchangeinannualaveragepersonalwell-beingratings,byregion,betweenthefinancialyearsending2012and2015

UnitedKingdom


Notes:




5.3Highestandlowestpersonalwell-beingintheEnglishregionsinthefinancialyearending2015Thissectionconsiderswhetherthehighestandlowestreportedpersonalwell-beingisspreadevenlyacrosstheregionsorwhetherhighestandlowestwell-beingareconcentratedincertainareas.Thepercentagesofpeopleineachregionreportingthehighestwell-beinginfinancialyearending2015isshowninMap1andthelowestreportedwell-beingshowninMap2.Thesemapsalsoshowthedirectionofchangesintheestimatessincefinancialyearending2012.

Theconcentrationsofhighestlevelsofreportedpersonalwell-beingacrosstheEnglishregions,comparedtheUKasawhole,are:

theSouthEastwastheonlyregionwithasignificantlyhigherproportionofpeoplereportingveryhighlifesatisfactioncomparedtotheUK

theNorthWestandYorkshireandTheHumberhadasignificantlyhigherproportionofpeoplereportingaveryhighsensethatthethingsthattheydointheirlivesareworthwhilecomparedtotheUKasawhole

onlytheEastMidlandshadasignificantlyhigherproportionofpeoplereportingveryhighhappinesscomparedtotheUKasawhole

theEastMidlandsandWestMidlandsweretheonly2regionsthatreportedstatisticallysignificantlyhigherproportionsofpeoplereportinglowanxiety

Thisalsoshowsthatthepatternsofhighwell-beingacrosstheUKdifferforeachofthe4measures.

Map1:Percentagesratingpersonalwell-beingathighestlevels:byEnglishregionforfinancialyearending2015andchangesincefinancialyearending2012

East Midlands 29.0

Noo1h East 28.6

YorI<.shire ..-.::I The Ho.mber 28.3

West Midlands 27.0

London 25.4

50

England = 28.4%. UK = 28.6% Pen:entage ranked tJ)o regoo

Worthwhile (9-10),1 2014/2015

• North West 35.9

Yor1<.shire arid TIle HumtJer 35.9

South West 35.6

South East 35.4

East of England 34.1

East Midlands 33.8

North East 32.9

West Midlands 32.2

Loodon31.8

England = 34.3%. UK = 34 4% Percentage ranked IT)" region

Happiness (9_10),1 2014/2015 %

East Midlands 36.0

South East 35.3

South West 34.8

Yor1<.shire arid TIle HumtJer 34.6

East of England 34.1

North West 33.9

North East 33.1

West Midlands 32.1

Loodon 31.2 , , "

, "

, '" 50

England = 33.9%. UK = 34. 1% Pen:entage ranked tJ)o regoo

Improvement

No change

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Improvement

Significam change since 2011112

Improvement

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Significant change since 2011112

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Anxiety (0-1 ),t 2014/2015 Significanl change % since 2011112

West Midlands 45.9 Improvement

East Midlands 43.0 Improvement

North West 41.4 Improvement

South East 41.0 Improvement

Yor1<.shire arid TIle HumtJer 40.8 Improvement

East of England 40.6 Improvement

South West 40.3 Improvement

North East 40.3 Improvement

Loodon 36.2 Improvement , " '" 50

England = 40.6%. UK = 4D.9% Pen:entage ranked tJ)o regoo

1 Adults aged 16 and over were asked 'Overall, how satisfied are you with your life nowadays?', 'Overall, to what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile?' , 'Overall, how happy did you feel yesterday?' and 'Overall. how anxious did you feel yesterday?' where 0 is 'not at all' and 10 is 'completely'.

Source: Omce for Natooal StatiStiCS licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data Cl Crown c~right and datalJase right 2Ot5


Notes:

1. Adults aged16andoverwereasked:"Overall,howsatis fiedareyouwithyourlifenowadays?""Overall,towhatextentdoyoufeelthethingsyoudoinyourlifeareworthwhile?""Overall,howhappydidyoufeelyesterday?""Overall,howanxiousdidyoufeelyesterday?"Where0is "notatall"and10is "completely"

Theconcentrationsofthelowestlevelsofreportedpersonalwell-beingacrosstheEnglishregions,comparedtotheUKasawhole,are:

theNorthEast,NorthWestandYorkshireandTheHumberallhadsignificantlygreaterproportionsofpeoplereportingverylowlifesatisfaction,happinessandhighanxiety,onlytheSouthEasthadasignificantlylowerproportionofpeoplereportingverylowlifesatisfactionandhappiness

theNorthEastandNorthWestalsohadgreaterproportionsofpeoplereportinglowratingsforsensethatwhattheydoinlifeisworthwhile,whileagaintheSouthEastandalsotheEastofEnglandhadlowerproportionsofpeoplereportinglowworthwhilecomparedtotheUKasawhole

onlytheWestMidlandshadasignificantlylowerproportionofpeoplereportinghighanxietycomparedtotheUKfigure

Map2:Percentagesratingpersonalwell-beingatlowestlevels:byEnglishregionfinancialyearending2015andchangesincefinancialyearending2012


Notes:

-Worthwhile (0-4),1 2014/2015

• North Eas14.7 _

North Wes14.4 _

YOfkstllre and The Humber 4.3 _

West Mldlards 4.2 _

South Wes13.9 _

East Midlands 3.7 _

London3.6 _

East 01 England 3.3 _

South Eas13.1 _ , , '" England = 3.8%, UK = 3.8% Percentage ranked IT)' regIOn

Happiness (0-4) ,1 2014/2015 %

NofIh East 10.8

Yor1<.shire arid TIle Humber 10.2

North West 10.2

South West 8.8

East Midlands 8.1

West Mldlallds 8.6

East 01 England 8.5

London 8.3

South EasIS.O

'" England = 9.0%, UK = 6.9% Percentage ranked tJ)o regoo

Anxiety (6-10),1 2014/2015 %

North East 22.1

YoO<.shire and TIle Humber 21.3

NtxU, W.,,;l 20.7

Loodon 19.2

South West 18.8

South East 18.8

East Midlands 18.6

East 01 England 18.3

West Midlands 17.9 , '" Englafld = 194%. UK = 19.4% Percentage ranked tJ)o regoo

Significant change since 2011112

No change

Improvement

No change

Improvement

No changl

Improvement

Improvement

Improvement

Improvement

Significanl change since 2011112

Improvement

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Improvement

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No change

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1 Adults aged 16 and over were asked 'Overall, how satisfied are you with your life nowadays?', 'Overall, to what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile?', 'Overall, how happy did you feel yesterday?' and 'Overall, how anxious did you feel yesterday?' where 0 is 'not at all' and 10 is 'completely'.

Source OOce for Nallonal Slalislics icensed under the Open Governmenl Ucence v.3.0 Contains OS data Cl Crown ropyrighl and database righl2015

1. Adults aged16andoverwereasked:"Overall,howsatis fiedareyouwithyourlifenowadays?""Overall,towhatextentdoyoufeelthethingsyoudoinyourlifeareworthwhile?""Overall,howhappydidyoufeelyesterday?""Overall,howanxiousdidyoufeelyesterday?"Where0is "notatall"and10is "completely"

5.4Changesovertimeinhighestandlowestpersonalwell-beingintheregionsComparingtheconcentrationsofhighestreportedpersonalwell-beingintheregionscomparedtofinancialyearending2014:

theregionswiththelargestgrowthintheproportionofpeoplereportingwell-beingatthehighestlevelswere:theEastofEnglandandtheSouthEastforlifesatisfaction,theNorthWest,YorkshireandTheHumberandtheSouthEastforworthwhile

forhighlevelsofhappinesstheregionswiththelargestgrowthintheproportionofpeoplereportinghighlevelsofhappinesssincefinancialyearending2014weretheNorthWestandtheEastMidlands

theregionsthatreportedthebiggestimprovementsinreportedlowlevelsofanxietyweretheEastMidlandsandLondon;notethatLondonistheregionthat,jointlywiththeNorthEast,reportedthehighestaverageanxietyinthefinancialyearending2015

Comparingtheconcentrationsoflowestreportedpersonalwell-beingtothoseoffinancialyearending2014:

theproportionsofpeoplereportinglowlevelsoflifesatisfactionsignificantlyreducedforallregionsexceptfortheNorthEast,YorkshireandTheHumberandtheEastofEngland

fortheothermeasuresofpersonalwell-beingtherewereonlyafewregionswhichhadsignificantreductionsintheproportionsofpeoplereportingverylowwell-being:forworthwhiletheonlyregionthathadasignificantreductionwastheNorthWest

forhappiness,theonly2regionswithsignificantreportedreductionsweretheWestMidlandsandLondon

foranxiety,theonlysignificantreportedreductionsintheproportionsofpeoplereportinghighanxietyweretheEastofEnglandandLondon

theNorthEastandYorkshireandTheHumberweretheonly2Englishregionswithnosignificantreportedimprovementinlowlevelsofwell-beingacrossall4ofthemeasures

Itisimportanttolookatconcentrationsoflowlevelsofpersonalwell-beingovertimesothatpolicymakerscantargetandmeasureinterventionsdesignedtoimprovepersonalwell-beingforthesegroups.

Therehasbeenagreaterimprovementintheproportionsofpeoplereportinghighwell-beingthanreductionsinpeoplereportingwell-beingatthelowestlevels.ThisreflectsthepatternfortheUKasawhole,aswellasforthe4UKcountries.

Sincefinancialyearending2012,whenwefirstcollectedthesedata,changesinconcentrationsofhighestreportedpersonalwell-beingacrosstheregions,asshowninMap1,include:

significantincreasesintheproportionsofpeoplereportingveryhighlifesatisfactionforallregionsapartfromtheNorthEastandtheSouthWest

significantincreasesintheproportionsofpeoplereportingveryhighsensethatthethingstheydoinlifeareworthwhileacrossallregionsexceptfortheEastMidlands

significantincreasesintheproportionsofpeoplereportinglowanxietyforallregions

Ofthe4measures,anxietyistheonethathasseenthemostpositiveimprovement.ThiscouldbeduetogreaterstabilityintheUKeconomycomparedtofinancialyearending2012,whichmayhaveaffectedpeople’sanxietylevelsmorethantheothermeasuresofpersonalwell-being.

Sincefinancialyearending2012,whenwefirstcollectedthedata,changesinconcentrationsoflowestreportedpersonalwell-beingacrosstheregions,asshowninMap2include:

significantreductionsintheproportionsofpeoplereportinglowlifesatisfactioninallEnglishregionsexcepttheNorthEast

significantreductionsintheproportionsofpeoplereportingalowsensethatthethingstheydoinlifeareworthwhileexceptintheNorthEast,YorkshireandTheHumberandtheSouthWest

significantreductionsintheproportionsofpeoplereportinglowlevelsofhappinessinallregions

significantreductionsintheproportionsofpeoplereportinghighanxietyinallregionsexcepttheNorthEastandYorkshireandTheHumber

Thisistobeexpectedgiventhegeneralimprovementsinpersonalwell-beingintheUKasawholeduringthisperiod;however,aswasfoundinforthe4countriesoftheUK,thegainsinpersonalwell-beingaregreaterinsomeareasthanothers.

5.5SummaryofPersonalWell-beinginEnglishRegions

5.5.1SummaryofPersonalWell-beingintheEnglishRegionsinfinancialyearending2015

TheSouthEastwasoneoftheregionswithhighestpersonalwell-being,includingthehighestaveragereportedlifesatisfactionandworthwhile,butalsofortheproportionsofpeoplereportinglifesatisfactionatthehighestlevels,andwastheregionwiththehighestaveragereportedhappiness.

Intermsofreportedanxiety,thepatternofreportingwasdifferentintheEnglishregionscomparedtotheother3measures.Forexample,theWestMidlandswastheregionwiththelowestaverageanxietyandthelowestproportionsofpeoplereportinghighanxiety,butwasnotamongtheregionswiththehighestreportedlifesatisfaction,sensethatthethingswedoinlifeareworthwhileorhappiness.Thisshowsthatitisimportanttocapturepersonalwell-beingforall4measuresastheycapturedifferentaspectsofpersonalwell-being.

Regionsthatreported2ormorebelowaverage/lowlevelspersonalwell-beingacrossallthemeasuresweretheNorthEast,NorthWest,London,andYorkshireandTheHumber.

5.5.2SummarycomparisonofPersonalWell-beingchangeintheEnglishRegionsbetweenfinancialyearsending2014and2015

Forchangeinaverageratings,onlytheNorthEast,WestMidlands,EastMidlandsandYorkshireandTheHumberdidnotreportsignificantimprovementsforatleast2outofthe4measures.TheNorthEastandYorkshireandTheHumberweretheonly2Englishregionswithnosignificantimprovementinlowlevelsofwell-beingacrossall4ofthemeasures.

Theregionswiththelargestgrowthintheproportionsofpeoplereportingwell-beingatthehighestlevelswere:theEastofEnglandandSouthEastforlifesatisfaction,theNorthWest,YorkshireandTheHumberandSouthEastforworthwhile.ForhighlevelsofhappinessthebiggestgrowthinproportionsweretheNorthWestandEastMidlands.ForanxietytheregionsthatreportedthebiggestimprovementsinthosereportinglowlevelsofanxietyweretheEastMidlandsandLondon.ThisisinterestingasLondonwasoneoftheregionswhichhadthehighestaverageanxietyreportedforthefinancialyearending2015,andwiththelowestproportionsofpeoplereportinglowlevelsofanxiety.

Bothaveragelevelsinreportedpersonalwell-beingandproportionsofpeoplereportinglowlevelsofpersonalwell-beinghaveremainedstaticinsomeregions,despiteoverallimprovementsfortheUKasawhole.

Personalwell-beinginlocalareasoftheUKFormorelocalareasoftheUK,thepersonalwell-beingestimatesareavailableasinteractivemaps(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/external-links/about-statistics/wellbeing/personal-well-being-across-the-uk-interactive-map.html),whichcanbeexploredinavarietyofways,andinthereferencetables(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-407641)accompanyingthisbulletin.Thepersonalwell-beingestimateshavebeenpublishedforthefollowingadministrativeareasinEngland,Scotland,WalesandNorthernIrelandinthereferencetables(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-407641):

unitaryauthoritiesorcountiesinEngland

localauthoritydistrictsinEngland

unitaryauthoritiesinWales

localauthoritiesinScotland

localgovernmentdistrictsinNorthernIreland

Wehavealsopublishedfurtheranalysislookingathowpersonalwell-beingdiffersaccordingtothecharacteristicsofareasandthepeoplelivingthere(ONS,2013b(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-subjective-wellbeing-in-the-uk/first-annual-ons-experimental-subjective-well-being-results/index.html);ONS,2014b(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/regional-trends/regional-economic-analysis/exploring-personal-well-being-and-place-in-the-uk/art-exploring-personal-well-being-and-place.html)).In2014wereleasedthefirstcombined3yearsofpersonalwell-beingdata(ONS,2015d(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/personal-well-being-in-the-uk--three-year-data-2011-2014/index.html)).Wewillpublisharollingcombined3yearpersonalwell-beingdatasetannually.Thisisdesignedtoprovidelargersamplesizesandmorerobustanalysisofpersonalwell-beinginlocalareasandamongsmallerpopulationsubgroups.

Wewouldwelcomefeedbackonthisbulletin,particularlyhowthedataareused.

Pleasecontactusviaemailat:personal.well-being@ons.gsi.gov.ukortelephoneLucyTinkler01633455713.

6.

Usesofthedata7.

Thepersonalwell-beingstatisticsareusedtoinformdecisionmakingamongpolicy-makers,individuals,communities,businessesandcivilsociety.Theycomplementothertraditionalmeasuresofprogressandqualityoflife,suchasunemploymentandhouseholdincome.Weusethepersonalwell-beingestimatesaspartofawiderprogrammetomonitorandunderstandUKnationalwell-beingovertimeandincomparisontoothercountries.

Oneofthemainbenefitsofcollectingpersonalwell-beingdataisthatpeopleareabletogivetheirviewsabouteachaspectoftheirwell-being.Withoutit,assumptionsmustbemadeabouthowobjectiveconditions,suchaspeople’shealthandincome,mightinfluencetheirindividualwell-being.However,personalwell-beingmeasuresaregroundedinindividuals’preferencesandtakeaccountofwhatmattersmosttothembyallowingthemtodecidewhatisimportantwhenprovidinganassessmentoftheirownqualityoflife.

Theusesofpersonalwell-beingdataarevaried,butthe4mainusesare:

overallmonitoringofnationalwell-being

useinthepolicymakingprocess

internationalcomparisons

publicdecisionmaking

7.1Overallmonitoringofnationalwell-beingCollectedregularly,personalwell-beingdatacanprovideanindicationofhowthewell-beingofanationischanging.Togetafullpictureofnationalwell-beingwebelieveitisimportanttousethisinformationtosupplementexistingobjectiveinformation.Afterextensivepublicconsultationwehaveidentifieddifferentaspects(ordomains)ofwell-beingthatsitalongsidethepersonalwell-beingdomain.Theseinclude:

health

ourrelationships

whatwedo

wherewelive

personalfinance

educationandskills

theeconomy

theenvironment

governance

TheNationalWell-beingwheelofmeasures(http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/HTMLDocs/dvc146/wrapper.html)includesindicatorsforallthese.

7.2UseinpolicymakingPersonalwell-beingdata,withintheframeworkofwidermeasuresofnationalwell-being,focusesonhowpeoplethinkandfeelabouttheirlives.Thisisanimportantadditiontoofficialstatistics,helpingpolicymakersunderstandhowtheirdecisionsmayaffectpeople’squalityoflife.Personalwell-beingdataisincreasinglybeingusedbothintheUKandinternationallyinthedevelopmentandevaluationofpoliciesandservices.Theseinclude:

in2015theairportscommissionassessedpersonalwell-beingaroundairportstoinformit’srecommendationsonairportexpansion;

theCabinetOfficehasrecentlyreleasedresultsanalysingpersonalwell-beinginareaswheresocialactionprojectshavebeenrunning

theWhatWorksCentreforWell-beingreleasedpersonalwell-beingresultsbyoccupationandthisisbeingusedtodevelopanewcareersapplicationforyoungpeople

theBehavioralInsightsTeamrecentlyevaluatedthepersonalwell-beingofyoungpeopleparticipatinginYouthSocialActiontrialscomparedtocontrolgroups

TheWhatWorksCentreforWell-beingwaslaunchedinOctober2014.Theyaimtoencouragegreateruseofwell-beingdataamongdecisionmakersbymakingiteasytounderstandanduseinpracticalways

7.2.1Identifyingneedandtargetingpolicies

ThelargesamplesizeoftheAnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)PersonalWell-beingdatasetallowsforcomparisonsbetweendifferentgroupsofthepopulation(forexample,differentagegroupsordifferentethnicgroups)andbetweendifferentareasintheUK(forexample,countries,regionsandlocalauthoritydistricts).Thiscanhelppolicy-makerstargetpolicyatthegroupsorareaswithhighestneedintermsofpersonalwell-being.

Analysiscanalsobecarriedouttolookathowdifferentcircumstancesrelatetopersonalwell-beingandwhicharemoststronglyassociatedwithit.Thiscanhelptoidentifywhichpoliciescouldbemosteffectiveinimprovingpersonalwell-being.InMay2013wepublishedanalysislookingatWhatmattersmosttopersonalwell-being?(ONS,2013b(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-subjective-wellbeing-in-the-uk/first-annual-ons-experimental-subjective-well-being-results/index.html))whichidentifiedhealth,relationshipstatusandemploymentstatusasthefactorsmosthighlyassociatedwithpersonalwell-beingintheAPS.Ourrecentpublicationshavealsolookedatrelationshipsbetweencommutingandpersonalwell-being(ONS,2014c(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/commuting-and-personal-well-being--2014/index.html)),householdincomeandexpenditure(ONS,2014d(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/income--expenditure-and-personal-well-being/art--income--expenditure-and-personal-well-being.html)),andaspectsofwherewelive(ONS,2014b(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/regional-trends/regional-economic-analysis/exploring-personal-well-being-and-place-in-the-uk/art-exploring-personal-well-being-and-place.html)).

7.2.2Policyappraisal

Anotheruseisincost-benefitanalysisforpolicyappraisal.Personalwell-beingestimatescanprovideanalternativemethodtovaluethecostsandbenefitsofdifferentpolicies.Thisprocesscouldalsohelpinformdecisionsaboutwhatformsofspendingwillleadtothelargestincreasesinpersonalwell-being(Dolanetal,2011(99.8KbPdf)(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/publications/measuring-subjective-well-being-for-public-policy.pdf)).

TheGreenBookisHMTreasury'sguideforgovernmentdepartmentsontheappraisalofthecostsandbenefitsofprojectsthroughsocialcost-benefitanalysis.AGreenBookdiscussionpaper(FujiwaraandCampbell,2011(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/valuation-techniques-for-social-cost-benefit-analysis)),producedjointlybyHMTreasuryandtheDepartmentforWorkandPensions,looksatthepotentialusesofpersonalwell-beingmeasuresinsocialcost-benefitanalysis.Anotherrecentexampleoftheuseofpersonalwell-beingdatainthisareahasbeentoproduceamethodforthemonetaryvaluationofvolunteering(Fujiwaraetal,2013(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wellbeing-and-civil-society-estimating-the-value-of-volunteering-using-subjective-wellbeing-data-wp112)).

7.2.3Examplesofuseofpersonalwell-beingdataforpolicyevaluationandmonitoring

Personalwell-beingdataareincreasinglybeingusedtoevaluateandmonitortheeffectivenessofpolicyinterventionsintheUK.ArecentexampleistheNationalCitizenService,thereportedpersonalwell-beingofyoungpeoplebeforeandaftertheirparticipationintheservicewasevaluated.Theresultscomparedpeople’sreportedpersonalwell-beingbeforeandafterparticipationintheprogrammeandfoundstatisticallysignificantincreases.Thewell-beingofparticipants’alsoimprovedcomparedtoacontrolgroupofsimilarpeoplewhohadnotparticipatedintheprogramme.Aswellasgovernmentinterventions,othercivilsocietyandthirdsectorinterventionscouldbeevaluatedinasimilarway.Addedtothis,lookingatpoliciesthrougha“well-beinglens”andusingdatatoinform,notonlytheformulationofpolicy,butalsohowpolicycouldbebetterimplementedwithpeople’swell-beinginmindisalsoimportant.TheSocialImpactsTaskforce(SITF),comprisingofsenioranalystsfromacrossgovernment,hasbeenworkingtomakeuseofpersonalwell-beingdataandshareapproachesandfindingsacrossgovernment.TheCabinetOfficehasalsoconvenedacross-Whitehallsteeringgroupofseniorpolicymakerstoencouragetheconsiderationofwell-beinginpolicy.

Separateinitiativestoinvestigatewell-beingarebeingundertakenbythedevolvedgovernments.Theseinclude:theNationalPerformanceFramework,whichformspartofthe“Scotlandperforms”initiativeandtherecentlypublishedAnalysisofsubjectivewell-beinginWales:EvidencefromtheAnnualPopulationSurvey.Theseinitiativesreflectthespecificneedsofthecountriestheyrepresent.

MostUKgovernmentdepartmentsareactivelyengagedinwell-beingresearchinsomeway,particularlyanalysisofpersonalwell-beingdata.Thisexploreshowpeople’sratingsoftheirpersonalwell-beingareassociatedwithparticularpolicyareasincludinghousing,crime,adultlearning,sport,culture,volunteeringandhealth.

Furtherinformation,includingexamplesofhowpersonalwell-beingdataarebeingusedinthepolicyprocess,isavailableinrecentgovernmentevidencesubmittedbytheCabinetOfficetotheUKParliament’sEnvironmentalAuditCommittee(http://wasppreview/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/personal-well-being-in-the-uk--2014-15/index.html)aspartoftheirinquiryonwell-being,

Well-beingPolicyandAnalysisisalsoavailable;thisreportprovidesupdatedinformationaboutwell-beingworkacrossWhitehall(includinguseofourpersonalwell-beingquestionsanddatainevaluations,surveysandspecialiseddataexplorationtools).

7.3Internationaldevelopmentstomonitorwell-being

ThebenefitofunderstandingwheretheUKisplacedcomparedtoothernationsisanotherimportantreasonforthecollectionofpersonalwell-beingdata.Thereareincreasingcallsfrominternationalorganisations,suchasEurostat(theStatisticalOfficeoftheEuropeanUnion)andtheOrganisationforEconomicCooperationandDevelopment(OECD),todevelopnationalpersonalwell-beingestimatesandincreasingrecognitioninternationallythatthisshouldbeincludedinofficialdatacollection.Eurostat(theStatisticalOfficeoftheEuropeanUnion)havestartedtocollectpersonalwell-beingstatisticsfrommemberstatesaspartoftheEuropeanStatisticsonIncomeandLivingConditions(EU-SILC)(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/external-links/other-government-departments/eurostat/eu-statistics-on-income---living-conditions.html)inanad-hocwell-beingmodulein2013.Eurostat’sQualityofLifeIndicators,currentlybeingdeveloped,willalsoincludepersonalwell-beinginformationtosupplementobjectiveinformationalreadycollectedacrossEurope.

TheOECDhasalsopublishedguidanceonthemeasurementofsubjectivewell-being,whichwehavecontributedto(OECD,2013(http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/economics/oecd-guidelines-on-measuring-subjective-well-being_9789264191655-en)).

Methodology8.1TheAPSPersonalWell-beingdatasetThedataanalysedinthisbulletinarefromtheAnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)PersonalWell-beingdataset,coveringtheperiodApril2014toMarch2015.ONSwillreleaseanewannualAPSPersonalWell-beingdataseteveryyear,soonafterthepublicationofthelatestPersonalWell-beingintheUKstatisticalbulletininSeptember.ThedatasetincludesresponsestothefourONSpersonalwell-beingquestionsaswellasarangeofothervariablesusefulfortheanalysisofpersonalwell-being.Also,specialweightingisincludedinthedatasettomakethedatarepresentativeoftheUKpopulation.Theweightingalsoadjustsforthefactthateachrespondentmustanswerthequestionsforthemselves,withnooneelseinthehouseholdallowedtoanswerontheirbehalf.Estimatesfor2014/15havebeenweightedusingpopulationtotalsfromthe2011census.Estimatesfrompreviousyearswereweightedtopopulationtotalsfromthe2001census.Thisdifferencemayimpactestimatesbutitisimpossibletoquantifyandislikelytobesmall.

Since2012,theannualversionoftheAPSPersonalWell-beingdatasethasbeenarchivedsothatapprovedresearcherscanusethedatafortheirownanalysis.FurtherdetailsofhowresearcherscanaccessthedataareavailablefromourFrequentlyAskedQuestionspage(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/method-quality/specific/social-and-welfare-methodology/subjective-wellbeing-survey-user-guide/subjective-well-being-frequently-asked-questions--faq-s-.html)orbycontactingthePersonalWell-beingTeam:[email protected].

8.

8.2TheONSpersonalwell-beingquestionsandtheirdevelopmentTheONSpersonalwell-beingquestionsweredevelopedaspartoftheMeasuringNationalWell-beingProgramme(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/index.html).ONSsoughtadvicefromexpertsworkinginthefieldofsubjectivewell-being(seeDolanetal,2011(99.8KbPdf)(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/publications/measuring-subjective-well-being-for-public-policy.pdf))andconsultedwithspecialistsontheNationalStatistician’sMeasuringNationalWell-beingAdvisoryForumandTechnicalAdvisoryGroup.Basedonthis,aswellasextensivequestiontesting,fourquestionsweredesigned.Theyprovideaconciseandbalancedapproachtothemeasurementofsubjectivewell-being,drawingonthreemaintheoreticalapproaches(Dolanetal,2011(99.8KbPdf(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/publications/measuring-subjective-well-being-for-public-policy.pdf)),ONS,2011a(240.8KbPdf)(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/wellbeing-knowledge-bank/understanding-wellbeing/measuring-subjective-well-being.pdf)).Theseinclude:

the‘evaluative’approachwhichaskspeopletoreflectontheirlifeandassesshowitisgoingoverallintermsoftheirsatisfactionwithlife;

the‘eudemonic’approachwhichaskspeopletoconsidertheextenttowhichtheyfeelasenseofmeaningandpurposeinlife;

the‘experience’approachwhichaskaboutpeople’spositiveandnegativeexperiencesandemotionsoverashortperiodoftimetoassesstheseaspectsofpersonalwell-beingonaday-to-daybasis

ONSconductedfocusgroupswithmembersofthepublicin2013,andfoundthat‘personalwell-being’isclearerandsimplerforpeopletounderstandthan‘subjectivewell-being’.Sincethen,boththequestionsandestimateshavebeenreferredtoas‘personalwell-being’.

ThefollowingaretheONSpersonalwell-beingquestionsthathavebeenincludedontheAnnualPopulationSurveyeachyearsince2011:

overall,howsatisfiedareyouwithyourlifenowadays?(evaluativeapproach)

overall,towhatextentdoyoufeelthethingsyoudoinyourlifeareworthwhile?(eudemonicapproach)

overall,howhappydidyoufeelyesterday?(experienceapproach)

overall,howanxiousdidyoufeelyesterday?(experienceapproach)

Allareansweredusinga0to10scalewhere0is‘notatall’and10is‘completely’.FurtherinformationontheONSapproachtomeasuringpersonalwell-beingcanbefoundinthepaper‘MeasuringSubjectiveWell-being’(240.8KbPdf)(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/wellbeing-knowledge-bank/understanding-wellbeing/measuring-subjective-well-being.pdf)(ONS,2011a).

8.3APSdesignanditsimplicationsforthepersonalwell-beingstatisticsEarlyintheMeasuringNationalWell-beingProgramme,ONSselectedtheAnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)asthekeysurveyonwhichtoincludethepersonalwell-beingquestionsforthenationalestimatesofpersonalwell-being.TheAPSisoneofthelargesthouseholdsurveysrunbyONSandoffersaverycost-effectivemeansofmeasuringpersonalwell-beinginarepresentativewayacrosstheUKandforeachUKcountry.Also,becauseofitsverylargesamplesize,itprovidesopportunitiesforanalysisofthepersonalwell-beingestimatesofsmallergroups,suchasminorityethnicgroups,andacrossregionalandlocalareas.Theseareimportantconsiderationsindecidinghowbesttomonitorthepersonalwell-beingofthenation.

Wheneverincludingnewquestionsonasurveyoriginallydesignedforanotherpurpose,therearesomeaspectsofthedesignandcoverageofthesurveywhichpresentchallenges.Thesearehighlightedinthissectionwherevertheyarerelevant.

8.3.1HowtheAPSisconstructed

TheAPSisanannualversionofthequarterlyLabourForceSurvey(LFS).ItisconstructedbycombiningdatacollectedontheLFS(waves1and5),andalsoincludesdatafromLFS‘boost’samplesinEngland,WalesandScotland(all4waves).TheAPSiscomprisedofdatacollectedovera12monthperiod,andincludesapanelelementwhereahousehold,onceselectedforinterview,isretainedinthesampleforasetperiodoftime(knownas’waves’).ThewaytheAPSisconstructedmakessurethatnopersonappearsmorethanonceinthedataset.Table1showsthis,withalltheboldtexthighlightingthewavescontributingtotheAPSdatabetweenApril2014andMarch2015:

Table1:DatastructureoftheAPSPersonalWell-beingdataset,2014/15(1,2)

APSPersonalWell-beingdataset:April2014toMarch2015

April-

June2014

July-Sept

2014

Oct-Dec

2014

Jan-

March

2015

LFScohort1(firstsampledApril-

June2013)Wave5

LFScohort2(firstsampledJuly-Sept

2013)Wave4 Wave5

LFScohort3(firstsampledOct-Dec

2013)Wave3 Wave4 Wave5

LFScohort4(FirstsampledJan-

March2014)Wave2 Wave3 Wave4 Wave5

LFScohort5(FirstsampledApril-

June2014)Wave1 Wave2 Wave3 Wave4

LFScohort6(firstsampledJuly-Sept

2014) Wave1 Wave2 Wave3

LFScohort7(firstsampledOct-Dec

2014) Wave1 Wave2

LFScohort8(FirstsampledJan-

March2015) Wave1

LFSboostcohort1(firstsampled

April2011-March2012)Wave4






April2014-March2015) Wave1

Source:OfficeofNationalStatistics

Notes:

1.LFShouseholdsareinterviewedovera5-waveperiod,with3months

betweeninterviews

2.LFSboosthouseholdsareinterviewedovera4-waveperiod,with1year

betweeninterviews

8.3.2Samplesizesandrepresentativeness

Intotal,theAPSpersonalwell-beingfileincludesresponsesfromover300,000peopleperyear,basedinaround135,000households.UnlikeotherquestionsontheAPS,peopleareonlyaskedthepersonalwell-beingquestionsdirectlyandnooneelseinthehouseholdisallowedtorespondontheirbehalf.ForthisreasonthesamplesizefortheAPSPersonalWell-beingdatasetissmallerthanthenormalAPSdataset,ataround165,000peopleperyear.ThisstillmakesitthelargestdatasetintheUKtoincludethepersonalwell-beingquestions.

TheAPSisahouseholdsurvey,andafterweighting,theAPSPersonalWell-beingdatasetprovidesarepresentativesampleofadults(aged16andover)livinginresidentialhouseholdsintheUK.Itisnotrepresentativeofyoungpeopleundertheageof16norpeoplelivingininstitutionalsettingssuchasnursinghomes,carehomes,prisonsorhostels.Italsodoesnotincludehomelesspeople.Itisimportanttoacknowledgethatthepersonalwell-beingofpeoplelivinginthesecircumstancesmightdiffersubstantiallyfromthatofadultslivinginhouseholdsettings.Asaresult,theestimatesofpersonalwell-beingfromtheAPScanonlybeseenasrepresentativeoftheadultpopulationoftheUKlivinginhouseholdsettingsandanygeneralisationsshouldbemadeonthisbasis.

8.3.3Datacollectionmethodsandtheirimplications

TheAPSusesbothface-to-faceandtelephoneinterviewingmethods.Thesedifferentdatacollectionmethodsappeartoaffecthowpeoplerespondtothepersonalwell-beingquestions.Ingeneral,peoplerateeachaspectoftheirwell-beingmorepositivelywheninterviewedbytelephonethanwheninterviewedface-to-facebyaninterviewer.Forexample,in2014/15,higherratingsweregivenonaverageforthelifesatisfaction,worthwhile,andhappyyesterdayquestionsduringtelephoneinterviewscomparedtoface-to-face(seeTable2).

Table2:Averagepersonalwell-being,bymodeofinterview,2014/15

UnitedKingdom

Average

Telephone Face-to-face

Lifesatisfaction 7.7 7.5

Worthwhile 7.9 7.8

Happyyesterday 7.6 7.4

Anxiousyesterday 3 2.8

Source:AnnualPopulationSurvey,OfficeforNationalStatistics

Therelationshipbetweenthemodeofinterviewandaverageresponsestothepersonalwell-beingquestionshasbeenexaminedusingregressionanalysistoholdotherpossibleinfluencesonpersonalwell-beingconstant.Thisshowsthesamepatternfoundindescriptivestatistics:onaverage,peoplegivemorepositiveresponseswheninterviewedbytelephonethanwheninterviewedface-to-face.Thesefindings,firstpublishedbyONSinMay2013(ONS,2013a),arereproducedinTable3.

Table3:Effectsofinterviewmodeonratingsofpersonalwell-being(1,2,3)aftercontrollingforindividualcharacteristics

GreatBritain

Coefficients

Life

satisfactionWorthwhile

Happy

yesterday

Anxious

yesterday

Referencegroup:Telephone

Interview4

FacetoFaceInterview -0.171* -0.165* -0.132* 0.054*


Notes:

1.Adultsaged16andoverwereasked'Overall,howsatisfiedareyouwithyour

lifenowadays?','Overall,towhatextentdoyoufeelthethingsyoudoinyour

lifeareworthwhile?','Overall,howhappydidyoufeelyesterday?'and'Overall,

howanxiousdidyoufeelyesterday?'wherenoughtis'notatall'and10is

'completely'

2.DatafromApril2011toMarch2012

3.Alldataweighted

4.Thereferencegroupforinterviewmodeis'telephoneinterviews'

5.*showsthattherelationshipisstatisticallysignificantatthe5%level

ThefindingsinTable3indicatethesizeandstatisticalsignificanceofthemodeeffects,ortheextenttowhichpeopleratetheirwell-beingdifferentlybytelephoneorinperson.Theeffectissmallestforthequestionaboutanxietyyesterdaywhichpeoplerate0.05pointshigheronaverageonthe0-10scalewheninterviewedface-to-facecomparedtotelephone.Theeffectisgreatestonratingsoflifesatisfactionwhichpeoplerate0.17pointsloweronaveragewheninterviewedface-to-facecomparedtotelephone.Thesedifferencesarestatisticallysignificantforallfourquestions,implyingthattheyarelikelytobeduetofactorsotherthansamplingvariation.

Table4showsproportionsofpeopleinterviewedviaeachmethodineachofthethreeyearsforwhichthepersonalwell-beingdataareavailable.

Table4:Proportionsofrespondents:bymodeofinterview,2011/12to2014/15(1)

UnitedKingdom

Percentage

2014/152 2013/14 2012/13 2011/12

TypeofInterview

Telephone 37.6 44.2 41.7 42.2

Face-to-face 62.4 55.8 58.3 57.8

Total 100 100 100 100


Notes:

1.Dataisweighted

2.Proportionsdifferfrompreviousyearsduetoamovementfromtelephoneto

facetofaceinterviewing,andthegreaterweightgiventofacetoface

interviews

8.3.4Implicationsofmodeeffectsforpersonalwell-beingestimates

Itischallengingtoaccountformodeeffectswhenusingstatistics.Asregressionanalysishasfoundmodeofinterviewtobesignificanttoallpersonalwell-beingmeasures,itisadvisabletoincludemodeofinterviewinanyplannedregressionanalysisusingtheAPSPersonalWell-beingdataset.

IntheONSnationalestimatesofpersonalwell-being,theimpactofmodeisstatisticallysignificant.Ithasbeenroughlyconsistentovertheperiodforwhichthedataareavailable,suggestingthatmodeeffectsareunlikelytoaffectanysubstantiveconclusionsdrawn.

Theremaybemoreofanimpactofmodeeffectsoncomparisonsbetweenpersonalwell-beingforlowerlevelgeographicalestimates.Thisisfortworeasons:differentgroupsmayhavedifferentbalancesoftelephoneandface-to-faceresponse;andtheimpactofmodemaydifferbyarea.

Ingeneral,mostwave1interviewswillbeconductedface-to-faceandsubsequentwaveinterviewswillbebytelephone.Thisshouldleadtoaroughlyequalbalanceofface-to-faceandtelephonerespondentsformostgeographicregionssouthoftheCaledonianCanal.NorthoftheCaledonianCanalallAPSinterviewsareconductedbytelephone.CareshouldthereforebetakenwhencomparinggeographiesnorthoftheCaledonianCanaltothosewhicharesouthoftheCaledonianCanal,andusersmaywishtodisregardanydifferencesbetweensuchareaswhichareonlymarginallystatisticallysignificant.

Thereissomepreliminaryevidencethattheimpactofmodemayvarybetweenareas,potentiallyintroducingbiasintogeographicalcomparisons.However,thisimpacttendstobesmallerthanthestandarderror,implyingthatadifferencewhichisstatisticallysignificantaccordingtothepublishedstandarderrorswouldbelikelytoremainifitwerepossibletoaccountforthevariationinmodeeffects(althoughitmaynolongerbesignificant).ONSplantoinvestigatethisfurtherandtomaketheresultsoffurtheranalysisavailabletousers.

8.3.5TopiccoverageoftheAPS

AstheAPSisbasedonalabourmarketsurvey,itincludesanextensiverangeofquestionswhichareimportantforunderstandinglabourmarketparticipation,manyofwhicharealsousefulfortheanalysisofpersonalwell-being.Forexample,itincludesawiderangeofsocialanddemographicquestionsaswellasitemsabouthousing,employmentandeducation.ForfulldetailsofthevariablesincludedintheAPSPersonalWell-beingdataset,pleaseseethesurveyuserguide(1.01MbPdf)(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/method-quality/specific/social-and-welfare-methodology/subjective-wellbeing-survey-user-guide/personal-well-being-survey-user-guide--2013-2014-dataset.pdf).

Asinterestinpersonalwell-beingdataextendstothefullspectrumofpolicyareas,ONShasalsoincludedthequestionsonothermajorsurveysthatitruns.IthasworkedcollaborativelywithotherUKgovernmentdepartmentsandwiththeEuropeanstatisticalinstitute,Eurostat,toencouragewideuseofthequestions.Alistofthesurveysthatcurrentlyincludethequestions,theirbroadtopiccoverageandhowtogetfurtherinformationisavailableonourFrequentlyAskedQuestions(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/method-quality/specific/social-and-welfare-methodology/subjective-wellbeing-survey-user-guide/subjective-well-being-frequently-asked-questions--faq-s-.html)pageorfromtheCabinetOfficewebsite(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/external-links/other-government-departments/cabinet-office/wellbeing-policy-and-analysis.html).

8.4HowtoaccesstheAPSpersonalwell-beingdataThereisarangeofwaysinwhichthedataaremadeavailable.AregularsetofkeyestimatesfromthedataareavailableinExcelspreadsheetspublishedalongsidethePersonalWell-beingintheUKstatisticalbulletin:

ReferenceTable1:PersonalWell-beingestimatesgeographicalbreakdown,2014/15(664.5KbExcelsheet)(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/personal-well-being-in-the-uk--2014-15/rft-table-1.xls)

ReferenceTable2:PersonalWell-beingestimateschangeovertime,2011/12to2014/15(118.5KbExcelsheet)(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/personal-well-being-in-the-uk--2014-15/rft-table-2.xls)

ReferenceTable3:PersonalWell-beingestimatespersonalcharacteristics,2014/15(574KbExcelsheet)(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/personal-well-being-in-the-uk--2014-15/rft-table-3.xls)

TheAPSPersonalWell-beingdataaredepositedwiththeUKDataService(UKDS)aboutsixweeksafterthepublicationofthePersonalWell-beingintheUKstatisticalbulletin.ItisavailablefromUKDSintwoformats:

EndUserLicense(afullyanonymisednon-disclosivesetofdatacontainingbasicdemographicinformation,availabletoUKandoverseasacademics),

SpecialLicenseversions(amoredisclosivesetofdata,containingmoredetailedvariablessuchasUnitaryAuthority/LocalAuthority,howeverUnitaryAuthority/LocalAuthorityleveldataisonlyavailableforGreatBritainbutnotforNorthernIreland.AccesstothisdatarequiresApprovedResearcheraccreditation,andisonlyavailabletoUK-basedresearchers)

FurtherinformationabouttheseoptionsandhowtoaccessthedataisavailablefromtheUKDataService(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/external-links/academic/uk-data-service.html).

DatacanalsobeaccessedthroughtheONSVirtualMicrodataLaboratory(VML)orthroughtheSecureDataServiceofUKDS.Thisisusuallythewaytoaccessmoredetaileddatawithsmallersamplesizesorlowerlevelsofgeography,whichrequireaccessthroughamoresecureroute.UsersaccessingdatainthisformatwillrequireApprovedResearcheraccreditation.OverseasacademicsinterestedinthiscanalsoapplythroughthisroutebuttheymusttraveltotheUKtousethesefacilities.PleasecontacteitherUKDS(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/external-links/academic/uk-data-service.html)[email protected].

ONSalsoprovidethedatadirectlytoUKCivilServicestatisticiansandgovernmentresearchers.GovernmentanalystsinterestedinthisoptionshouldpleasecontactONSat:[email protected].

8.5Interpretingthepersonalwell-beingestimates

8.5.1Usingaverageratingsversusgroupedratings

Whencomparingdifferencesbetweenaverageratingsofgroupsorareas,itmustberememberedthatthisdoesnotaccountforvariabilitywithinthegroups.Justbecausetheaverageofsamplerespondentshasacertainratingofpersonalwell-beingdoesnotnecessarilymeanthatallpeoplewiththatcharacteristicwillhavethatparticularoutcome.Forexample,eventhoughwomenonaveragehavehigherlifesatisfactionthanmen,itisimportantnottoinferthatallwomenaremoresatisfiedwiththeirlivesthanmen.Recentresearchsuggeststhatwomenmaytendtoratetheirlifesatisfactionaseitherveryhighorverylow.Thispatternofresponsesmaybemaskedwhenusingaveragesalone.Lookingatthepercentagewhoratetheirwell-beingatdifferentlevelscanaddfurtherinsightintopatternsofwell-beingandthisiswhybothmethodsareusedinthisbulletin.Italsohelpstomakeclearthatwhatistrueforpartofthesamplewithacertaincharacteristicisunlikelytobetrueforallpeoplewiththatcharacteristic.

8.5.2Associationversuscausation

TheAPSpersonalwell-beingdatahavebeenanalysedbydifferentpersonalcharacteristicsandcircumstancesintheonlinereferencetablesaccompanyingthisbulletin,butanyrelationshipsobservedshouldnotnecessarilybetakentoimplycausation.Itcanonlybeassertedthataspecificcharacteristicorcircumstanceisassociatedwithhigherorlowerwell-being,notthatithascausedthisoutcome.Althoughsomegroupsaremorelikelytogivehigherlifesatisfactionratingsonaverage,itmaynotbetheparticularcharacteristicthatiscausingthemtoratetheirwell-beingatahigherlevel.Thereareotherfactorsthatcouldalsoinfluencetheirratingswhichwouldneedtobecontrolledforinaregressionmodel,andeventhencausationisoftendifficulttoinfer.Forexample,althoughmarriedpeopleonaverageratetheirhappinessathigherlevels,itisdifficulttosaywithcertaintywhethermarriageincreasesreportedhappinessorwhetherhappierpeoplearemorelikelytomarry.Longitudinaldatawhichtrackspeople’scharacteristics,experiencesandviewsovertimeisneededtoestablishwhetherthewell-beingorthecircumstancecamefirst.

8.5.3Themeaningofsmalldifferences

Thesizeofdifferencesbetweenratingsofpersonalwell-beingbetweengroupsofpeoplewithcertaincharacteristicsorinspecificareasoftheUKcanappearfairlysmall.Thisisalsothecaseforthesizeofyear-on-yearchangesinthenationalpersonalwell-beingestimates.Thepersonalwell-beingestimatesinthisbulletinaregenerallypresentedtoonedecimalplace,buttheestimatesrelatingtochangeovertimearepresentedtotwodecimalplaces.Thisistopresentmoreclearlythedirectionofchangeovertimefortheseestimates.

Akeychallengeistodeterminetherelevanceofthesechanges.Onetheorysuggeststhatpeoplemayhaveapersonalset-pointforwell-beingtowhichtheynaturallyreturnafterapositiveornegativelifeevent.Thiswouldsuggestthatlevelsofwell-beingmayonlyvarywithinafairlysmallrangeovertime,particularlyintheaggregate(Cummins,1998;AllinandHand,2014,p.13).

Otherresearchsuggeststhattheremaybesomeshocksfromwhichpeopledonotnecessarilyregaintheirpreviousset-pointsuchasthedeathofaspouse(Dolan,PeasgoodandWhite,2008;Lucasetal,2004)orthatpolicyinitiativescanaffectlevelsofpersonalwell-beinginasustainedway(Helliwell,Layard,Sachs,2012).

Althoughthesizeofthechangesreportedinthisbulletinmayappearsmallintheaggregate,theymaymasklargerchangesinthewell-beingofparticulargroupswithinsocietyorwithinparticularareasoftheUK.ThisiswhyONSlooknotonlyatchangesinaveragelevelsofpersonalwell-being,butalsointheproportionsofpeoplewhoratetheirpersonalwell-beingasveryhighorverylowandhowthischangesovertimeandbetweengroups.Botharerequiredtogetaroundedpictureofpersonalwell-beingintheUKandregularmonitoringwillhelptouncoveranyimportantpatterns.

8.5.4Approachestostatisticalsignificance

Inthisbulletin,whendescribingchangesovertimetheterm‘significant’referstostatisticalsignificance(atthe95%level).Unlessotherwisestated,thechangesovertimementionedinthetexthavebeenfoundtobestatisticallysignificantatthe95%confidencelevel.Standarderrorshavebeencalculatedandusedintestsofstatisticalsignificanceandareavailableinthereferencetablespublishedalongsidethisbulletin.

ThestatisticalsignificanceofdifferencesintheestimatesforaspecificareaoftheUKandtheequivalentUKestimateareapproximate,anddeterminedonthebasisofnon-overlappingconfidenceintervals.Thismethodprovidesaconservativeestimateofstatisticalsignificancebutmayresultinestimateswhicharestatisticallysignificantlydifferenttooneanotherbeingassessedasnot.TheresultisthatsomeestimateswhichmaybesignificantlydifferenttotheUKestimatesmaynotbeidentifiedassuch.Thiswouldtendtounderestimatethedifferencesobservedinpersonalwell-beingbetweenacountryorEnglishregion,andtheequivalentUKestimates.

Asthepersonalwell-beingdatahaveonlybeencollectedforthreeyears,itisnotyetpossibletoknowhowvolatilethedatawillbeovertime.Thismakesitdifficulttoputtheseeminglysmallchangesreportedhereintoawidercontextwhichwouldhelptoshedlightonhowimportanttheyare.ThisisalsoakeyreasonwhyONSdonotplantochangethequestionsinthenearfutureasbuildingupaconsistenttimeserieswillhelpinterpretations.

8.6Personalwell-beingquestiontestingAnumberofothermethodologicalissueshavebeen/arebeingtestedaspartofaprogrammeofworklookingathowthequestionsperformindifferentcircumstances(seeONS,2011b).ThisinvolvesbothquantitativetestingofquestionvariationsusingtheOpinionsandLifestyle(OPN)Survey,andqualitativetestingmethodsinwhichpeopleareaskedtoexplainmoreaboutthewaytheyansweredthequestionsandwhy.Itisimportanttonotethat,althoughONScontinuetotestthequestionstheyhavenotbeenchangedontheAPSsincetheywerefirstintroducedin2011.Thisistomakesureaconsistenttimeseriesisdeveloped.

ThePersonalWell-beingTeamarealsoincontactwithresearcherswhohaveusedthequestionsinarangeofdifferentsettings.TheirfeedbackprovidesvaluableinformationforONSandotherprospectiveusers.Ifyouhaveusedthequestionsorhavedoneanalysiswhichcouldbenefitothers,pleaseletusknowbycontactingthePersonalWell-beingTeamatpersonal.well-being@ons.gsi.gov.uk.OnewayweintendtosharetheresultsofourquestiontestingisviatheMeasuringNationalWell-beinggroupofStatsUserNet(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/external-links/organisations/statsusernet/statsusernet-home.html).Wewouldencourageotherresearcherstosharetheirfindingsthereaswell.

ThefollowingsectionsummarisessomeofthekeyissueslookedatbyONSinthequestiontestingtodate.

8.6.1Contextualeffects

Therespondent’smoodandtheimmediatecontextoftheinterviewcanaffectresponsestoevaluativequestions.Inahouseholdsurveycontext,responsestothepersonalwell-beingquestionscouldbeaffectedbyotherhouseholdmembersbeingpresentduringface-to-faceinterviews.ONShaveexploredthisissueincognitivetestingconductedin2013amongOPNrespondents.Theresultssuggestedthatpeoplemaygivebothmorepositiveandmorenegativeresponsestothequestionsdependingonwhichothermemberofthehouseholdispresent.Inordertotestthismorefully,a‘flag’hasbeenaddedtotheOPNsurveytoindicateifsomeoneelseispresentwhenarespondentisinterviewed.Thisworkisongoingandresultsareexpectedlaterintheyear.

Anothereffectofcontextthatappearstoinfluenceresponsesisthedayoftheweekonwhichtherespondentisinterviewed.InterviewingontheAPSisconductedeverydayoftheweekthroughouttheyear,butmanyfewerinterviewsareconductedonSundaysandcertainpublicholidays.Astwoofthequestionsreferto‘yesterday’,thereareinevitablyfewerresponsesrelatingtoSaturdays,whenpersonalwell-beingratingsmaybedifferenttootherdaysoftheweek.

Theprocessforidentifyingthedayoftheweekonwhicharespondenthasbeeninterviewediscomplicated.ONSarecurrentlyworkingonasimplermeansofidentifyingdayoftheweekwhentheinterviewtookplacesothiscanbeaddedtothedataset.

Themonthoftheyearinwhicharespondentisinterviewedmayalsoaffectresponses.Preliminaryevidencesuggeststhattheremaybeaseasonaleffect,butwithonlythreeyearsofdataavailable,itistooearlytobesure.ThisissomethingthatONSwillcontinuetomonitorasthetimeseriesbuilds.

8.6.2Questionorder

Responsestopersonalwell-beingquestionshavebeenshowntobeaffectedbyearlierquestionsinthesurvey(forexample,questionsabouthealthorlabourmarketstatus).PriortotheintroductionofthequestionsontheAPSinApril2011,ONScarriedoutcognitivetestingoftheplacementofthepersonalwell-beingquestions(see:MeasuringSubjectiveWell-being(240.8KbPdf)(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/wellbeing-knowledge-bank/understanding-wellbeing/measuring-subjective-well-being.pdf)).Thissuggestedthatthequestionsshouldbeaskedearlyintheinterview,immediatelyafterthequestionsonhouseholdandindividualdemographics.Thisallowstimeforrapporttobebuiltupbetweentheinterviewerandrespondentbutdoesnotallowquestionsonothertopics,suchashealthoremployment,toinfluenceresponsestothepersonalwell-beingquestions.ONSadviseresearcherstofollowthisapproachwheneverthequestionsareincludedonsurveysinordertoavoidpotentialbiasfromearlierquestions.

Quantitativequestiontestingfoundthattheorderinwhichthepersonalwell-beingquestionsareaskeddoesnotsignificantlyaffectresponses(Summaryofresultsfromtestingofexperimentalsubjectivewell-beingquestions(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/about-the-programme/advisory-groups/well-being-technical-advisory-group/index.html)).Qualitativetestingshowedthatrespondentspreferredthepositivequestionsfirstastheywereeasiertoanswer.ONSalwaysincludethefourquestionsinthesameorderoneverysurveytobesurethatthefindingsareasconsistentandcomparableaspossible.Therecommendedorderis:

lifesatisfaction

worthwhile

happyyesterday

anxiousyesterday

8.6.3Responsescales

ForallAPSpersonalwell-beingquestions,an11pointscaleisused.Thisrangesfrom0–10where0is‘notatall’and10is‘completely’.Thismeansthatthescalesareconsistentbetweenthequestions,whichhelpsrespondentstoanswerthequestionsmoreeasilyandalsoaidssubsequentanalysis.Additionally,11pointscalesarecommonlyusedacrossothersimilarsurveys,particularlyinternationally.Theuseofthistypeofscalewillalsoaidcomparisonswithothersurveyfindings.

Cognitivetestinghassuggestedthatpeoplemaymisinterpretthescalefortheanxietyquestionasthisistheonlyquestionwhereahigherscoresuggestsworsewell-being.Theuseofshowcards(whichprovideavisualaidofresponseoptionsforrespondents)hasbeentestedontheOPNsurveytoseewhetherthishelpstoremindpeopleofhowthescaleworksforeachquestion.Theresultsofthisworkshowedthatwhilehigherscoresweregivenforthelifesatisfaction,happinessandanxietyquestionswhenshowcardswereused,thedifferenceswereonlysignificantforthelifesatisfactionandhappinessquestions.Theseresultswerenotasexpectedbutthesampleusedforthistestwassmall.Furtherdetailsareavailableinthepaper:Summaryofresultsfromtestingofexperimentalsubjectivewell-beingquestions(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/about-the-programme/advisory-groups/well-being-technical-advisory-group/index.html).

ShowcardsarenotusedontheAPSanditisnotfeasibletousethemduetointerviewsbeingconductedbothface-to-faceandbytelephone.Forthisreason,wehavenotdoneanyfurthertestingoftheeffectsofshowcardsonresponses.

8.6.4Questionwording

ONShaveusedbothcognitivetestingtechniquesandsplittrialtestingofdatacollectedontheOpinionsSurveytolookatwhetheraskingthequestionsindifferentwaysmayaffectresponsestothequestions.Forexample,cognitivetestinghassuggestedthattheword‘anxious’maybeinterpretedbysomepeopleasrepresentingseverementaldistress,while‘stress’or‘worry’aremorecommonlyusedtodescribedailyemotions.ThesedifferencesarealsobeingtestedusingtheOPNtoseehowpeoplerespondtoeachwayofaskingthequestion.

TheMeasuringNationalWell-beingprogramme9.

ThisbulletinispublishedaspartoftheONSMeasuringNationalWell-beingprogramme.

Theprogrammeaimstoproduceacceptedandtrustedmeasuresofthewell-beingofthenation-howtheUKasawholeisdoing.Itisaboutlookingat'GDPandbeyond'andincludes:

greateranalysisofthenationaleconomicaccounts,especiallytounderstandhouseholdincome,expenditureandwealth

furtheraccountslinkedtothenationalaccounts,includingtheUKEnvironmentalAccountsandvaluinghouseholdproductionand'humancapital'

qualityoflifemeasures,lookingatdifferentareasofnationalwell-beingsuchashealth,relationships,jobsatisfaction,economicsecurity,educationenvironmentalconditions

workingwithotherstoincludethemeasurementofthewell-beingofchildrenandyoungpeopleaspartofnationalwell-being

measuresof'personalwell-being'-individuals'assessmentoftheirownwell-being

headlineindicatorstosummarisenationalwell-beingandtheprogresswearemakingasasociety

Theprogrammeisunderpinnedbyacommunicationandengagementworkstream,providinglinkswithCabinetOfficeandpolicydepartments,internationaldevelopments,thepublicandotherstakeholders.TheprogrammeisworkingcloselywithDefraonthemeasurementof'sustainabledevelopment'toprovideacompletepictureofnationalwell-being,progressandsustainabledevelopment.

ONSpublishedthethird‘LifeintheUK(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/life-in-the-uk--2015/index.html)’reportinMarch2015,givingthelatestsnapshotofthenation’swell-being.ThenextupdateoftheNationalWell-beingMeasuresdataisreleased29September2015.AsummaryofalltheworkcompletedduringthefirstthreeyearsoftheMeasuringNationalWell-beingProgrammeisavailablehere(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/reflections-on-measuring-national-well-being--may-2014/index.html).AfulllistofoutputsfromtheMeasuringNationalWell-beingprogrammeisavailablehere(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/publications/index.html).

FindoutmoreontheMeasuringNationalWell-beingwebsite(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/index.html)pages.

FurtherinformationFurtherinformationandguidancecanbefoundinthevariousdownloadsavailableonthePersonalWell-beingsurveyuserguidepage.Additionally,thePersonalWell-beingFrequentlyAskedQuestionspageprovidesanswerstocommonquestionsabouttheONSpersonalwell-beingquestionsanddata.

Name:LucyTinkler

Phone:+44(0)1633455713

Department:MeasuringNationalWell-being

Email:[email protected]

10.

ReferencesBlackaby,D,Drinkwater,S,Jones,M,Murphy,P,Parhi,MandRobinson,C.(WISERD)(2012)AnAnalysisofSubjectiveWellbeinginWales:EvidencefromtheAnnualPopulationSurvey(http://gov.wales/docs/caecd/research/121031wellbeingen.pdf)

BlanchflowerD.G,BellD.N.F,MontagnoliAandMoroM.(2013)“Theeffectsofmacroeconomicshocksonwell-being”(http://www.bostonfed.org/employment2013/papers/Blanchflower_Session5.pdf)

11.

CabinetOffice(2013)EvidencetotheEnvironmentalAuditCommittee(http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/WrittenEvidence.svc/EvidencePdf/1069)

CabinetOffice(2014)Wellbeing-Measuring‘WhatMatters’(https://coanalysis.blog.gov.uk/2014/08/06/wellbeing-measuring-what-matters/)

DolanP,LayardRandMetcalfeR,OfficeforNationalStatistics(2011)MeasuringSubjectiveWell-beingforPublicPolicy(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/publications/measuring-subjective-well-being-for-public-policy.pdf)

Eurostat(2013)QualityofLifeIndicators(http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Quality_of_life_indicators)

FujiwaraD,OroyemiP&McKinnonE(2013)Well-beingandCivilSociety;EstimatingthevalueofvolunteeringusingsubjectivewellbeingdataCabinetOfficeandDepartmentforWorkandPensionsa(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wellbeing-and-civil-society-estimating-the-value-of-volunteering-using-subjective-wellbeing-data-wp112)

FujiwaraDandCampbellR,HMTreasuryandDepartmentforWorkandPensions(2011)ValuationTechniquesforSocialCost-BenefitAnalysis:StatedPreference,RevealedPreferenceandSubjectiveWell-BeingApproaches(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/valuation-techniques-for-social-cost-benefit-analysis)

GrahamC,ShaojieZandZhang,J(2015)HappinessandHealthinChina:TheParadoxofProgress.GlobalEconomyandDevelopment.WorkingPaper89

HMRC(2015)RegionalTradeStatisticsSecondQuarter2015(https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/RTS/Pages/default.aspx)

OfficeforNationalStatistics(2011a)MeasuringSubjectiveWell-being(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well-being/wellbeing-knowledge-bank/understanding-wellbeing/measuring-subjective-well-being.pdf)

OfficeforNationalStatistics(2012)FirstAnnualONSExperimentalSubjectiveWell-beingResults(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-subjective-wellbeing-in-the-uk/first-annual-ons-experimental-subjective-well-being-results/index.html)

OfficeforNationalStatistics(2013a)MeasuringNationalWell-being–Personalwell-beingintheUK,2012/13(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/personal-well-being-in-the-uk--2012-13/index.html)

OfficeforNationalStatistics(2013b)MeasuringNationalWell-being–WhatmattersmosttoPersonalWell-being?(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-subjective-wellbeing-in-the-uk/first-annual-ons-experimental-subjective-well-being-results/index.html)

OfficeforNationalStatistics(2013c)PersonalWell-beingacrosstheUK,2012/13(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/personal-well-being-across-the-uk--2012-13/index.html)

OfficeforNationalStatistics(2014a)PersonalWell-beingintheUK,2013/14(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/personal-well-being-in-the-uk--2013-14/index.html)

OfficeforNationalStatistics(2014b)MeasuringNationalWell-being–ExploringPersonalWell-beingandplaceintheUK(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/regional-trends/regional-economic-analysis/exploring-personal-well-being-and-place-in-the-uk/art-exploring-personal-well-being-and-place.html)

OfficeforNationalStatistics(2014c)MeasuringNationalWell-being–CommutingandPersonalWell-being(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/commuting-and-personal-well-being--2014/index.html)

OfficeforNationalStatistics(2014d)Income,ExpenditureandPersonalWell-being,2011/12(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/income--expenditure-and-personal-well-being/art--income--expenditure-and-personal-well-being.html)

OfficeforNationalStatistics(2015a)TheEconomicReviewAugust2015(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/elmr/economic-review/august-2015/index.html)

OfficeforNationalStatistics(2015b)RegionalLabourMarket,June2015(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/subnational-labour/regional-labour-market-statistics/june-2015/index.html)

OfficeforNationalStatistics(2015c)RegionalLabourMarket,July2015(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/subnational-labour/regional-labour-market-statistics/july-2015/stb.html)

OfficeforNationalStatistics(2015d)MeasuringNationalWell-being,PersonalWell-beingintheUK,ThreeYearData2011/2014(http://file:///C:/Users/selfa/AppData/Local/Temp/notes1BA969/Measuring%2520National%2520Well-being,%2520Personal%2520Well-being%2520in%2520the%2520UK,%2520Three%2520Year%2520Data%25202011/2014)

OrganisationforEconomicCooperationandDevelopment(2013)OrganisationforEconomicCooperationandDevelopment(2013)guidelinesonmeasuringsubjectivewell-being(http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/economics/oecd-guidelines-on-measuring-subjective-well-being_9789264191655-en)

TheWhatWorksCentreforWell-being(2015)Personalwellbeingformajorandsub-majorStandardOccupationCodes(http://whatworkswellbeing.org/wellbeing-2/wellbeing-data/personal-wellbeing-for-major-and-sub-major-standard-occupation-codes/)

Contactdetailsforthisstatisticalbulletin

Backgroundnotes1. IfyouhavecommentsontheONSapproachtomeasuringpersonalwell-being

and/orthepresentationofthepersonalwell-beingdata,[email protected]

2. ThedataanalysedinthisreportwascollectedfromtheAnnualPopulationSurvey(APS)whichisthelargestconstituentsurveyoftheIntegratedHouseholdSurvey.Thesamplesizeofthe12monthAPSdatasetisapproximately165,000adultsaged16andoverandlivinginresidentialaccommodationintheUK(England,Scotland,WalesandNorthernIreland).Datausedareweightedtoberepresentativeofthepopulationandtotakeaccountofthefactthatresponsesmadeonbehalfofotherhouseholdmembersarenotaccepted

3. TheUKStatisticsAuthorityhasdesignatedthesestatisticsasNationalStatistics,inaccordancewiththeStatisticsandRegistrationServiceAct2007andsignifyingcompliancewiththeCodeofPracticeforOfficialStatisticsDesignationcanbebroadlyinterpretedtomeanthatthestatistics:

meetidentifieduserneeds

arewellexplainedandreadilyaccessible

areproducedaccordingtosoundmethods

aremanagedimpartiallyandobjectivelyinthepublicinterest.

OncestatisticshavebeendesignatedasNationalStatisticsitisastatutoryrequirementthattheCodeofPracticeshallcontinuetobeobserved.

4. Detailsofthepolicygoverningthereleaseofnewdataareavailablebyvisitingwww.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/assessment/code-of-practice/index.html(http://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/assessment/code-of-practice/index.html)orfromtheMediaRelationsOfficeemail:[email protected]

12.

[email protected]:+44(0)1633455713

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Supplementary information to accompany the three year ...doc.ukdataservice.ac.uk/doc/7924/mrdoc/pdf/7924... · EDAGECOR Age when compltd cont. FT education GSS, SL & EUL UK GAINED