Wellbeing

Developing the Health Index for England

Categories: Office for National Statistics, ONS, Public Policy, Wellbeing

In 2018, Dame Sally Davies, then Chief Medical Officer, called for an official index on England’s health. Her aim was to ensure that “health is recognised and treated as one of our nation’s primary assets…alongside GDP and the Measuring National Well-being programme.” As consultation on the proposed index gets under way, Greg Ceely explains the development work ONS has undertaken so far and what the provisional findings show.

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How does living in a more deprived area influence rates of suicide?

Categories: Coronavirus, Data, Office for National Statistics, ONS, Wellbeing

Every year, organisations and communities come together on World Suicide Prevention Day to raise awareness of how we can create a society where fewer people reach the point where they feel suicide is their only option. Ben Windsor-Shellard from the ONS, along with Magdalena Tomaszewska and Mette Isaksen from Samaritans, reflect on the latest suicide figures and analysis of suicide rates by local area deprivation.

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Parenting under lockdown

Categories: Coronavirus, ONS, Wellbeing

New analysis highlights the pressures faced by parents during the coronavirus lockdown, due to taking on more childcare and homeschooling responsibilities. As we’ve found from many aspects of life under lockdown, not everyone’s experience is the same, but early results suggest these additional pressures have been affecting the work and overall wellbeing of some parents. Gueorguie Vassilev and Tracy Williams explain more.

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How the Office for National Statistics is responding to the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic

Categories: Coronavirus, ONS, Wellbeing

The Office for National Statistics is gathering vital information on the social and economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic and feeding it into the government to help planning, protect lives and reduce the impact on the economy. Here Iain Bell explains the work ONS are doing to understand the impacts of COVID-19 on our society and economy and what the initial results show.

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