Government consultation on quality of life – help make the case for the arts!
17/1/2012 Government consultation on quality of life – help make the case for the arts!
Deadline: 23 January 2012
A UK Government-sponsored consultation seeking to identify the factors that influence national well-being currently makes no explicit mention of the arts or creativity. This means that cultural activity could be excluded from future statistical measures of quality of life.
The consultation aims to clarify those factors that have a major impact on individual well-being, and six categories (described as 'domains') have been proposed: our relationships, health, what we do, where we live, personal finance and education and skills. However, none of these categories make specific reference to the contribution that involvement in the arts or creative activity or access to the country's cultural or heritage infrastructure can make to individual well-being.
The consultation proposals, prepared by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), reflect the outcome of a national debate on the nature of wellbeing which took place between November 2010 and April 2011, and was hosted by the ONS at the request of UK Government. The domains now proposed by ONS reflect what was considered to be important by those who responded to the national debate, and a wide range of 'headline measures', based on data currently being collected across the UK, are suggested for each domain. Prior to the debate, engagement with cultural activity was recognised as an influencer on personal wellbeing, but there is currently no proposal to include measures of this in compiling the key indicators of wellbeing in Britain.
The most notable absentee from the list of data to be used is the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's robust research on arts attendance and participation gathered through its regular 'Taking Part' survey. Such an omission has the potential to undermine efforts by the arts sector to embed the arts into the wider social inclusion agenda.
The consultation closes on 23 January, and Paul Allin, who leads the National Well-Being Project for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), is adamant that the consultation is a genuine opportunity for all voices to be listened to. To respond to the consultation, either download a consultation form from http://tinyurl.com/bp8ajz5 or respond online at www.surveymonkey.com/s/QCRY8HS
You can also read Hilary Jennings' article 'Measuring well-being – no place for the arts and culture?' in Arts Professional at www.artsprofessional.co.uk/Magazine/view.cfm?id=6086&issue=246