SWENVO Headlines http://www.swenvo.org.uk/swo-swenvo-news.rss SWO has today responded to the current ONS consultation on measuring national wellbeing. This consultation by the ONS is looking at proposed domains and measures for measuring national wellbeing. Click on the icon below to read SWO's response. http://www.swenvo.org.uk/news/all-news/?entryid9=51179 Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:29:07 GMT 20120123112907 Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:29:07 GMT 20120123112907 Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:37:07 GMT 2012012311113707 Two new UWE online short courses now available in 'The Science of Climate Change' and 'Climate Change and Spatial Planning'. These have been launched to coincide with the United Nations' 17th annual climate change conference which has just taken place in Durban, South Africa. Climate change will become an increasingly important factor in planning for different types of development. These courses allow you to explore the issue of climate change and what it means for communities and the built environment, from managing carbon at the city scale to climate change adaptation in suburban areas. Each interactive course is approximately 12 hour learning. For more information click on the link below. http://www.swenvo.org.uk/news/all-news/?entryid9=50864 Mon, 19 Dec 2011 09:47:11 GMT 20111219094711 Mon, 19 Dec 2011 09:47:11 GMT 20111219094711 Mon, 19 Dec 2011 09:58:49 GMT 201112190995849 This short briefing paper outlines the recently published Natural Environment White Paper and the context in which it sits, namely the National Ecosystem Assessment and Lawton Review. The Natural Choice: securing the value of nature is the first White Paper on the natural environment to be published in 20 years. It comes after a period of public consultation during 2010 and strongly links the value of the natural environment in delivering economic growth. It sets the Government's policy towards sustainability and sustainable growth. Key issues outlined in the White Paper include: • A healthy natural environment that functions well is a key ingredient in delivering sustainable economic growth, communities that prosper, and personal wellbeing.• The Government wishes to ensure that nature is valued. It will do this by: Helping communities take action locally to protect and improve nature; Creating a green economy where economic growth and healthy natural resources; sustain each other and value the role of nature; Connect people and nature more strongly; Show leadership in the European Union and internationally to protect and enhance; nature across the world To download a copy see the SWO Briefing Notes Section, or click on the link below. http://www.swenvo.org.uk/news/all-news/?entryid9=50778 Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:27:19 GMT 20111209152719 Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:27:19 GMT 20111209152719 Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:31:13 GMT 201112091533113 Around three quarters of adults in Great Britain rated their own life satisfaction, with a score of 7 or more out of 10, according to a research report published by the Office for National Statistics today. Similar proportions also rated the things that they do in life as worthwhile and their happiness over the previous day at 7 or more out of 10. In terms of how anxious people felt, over half those asked rated their levels at below 4 out of 10 with a quarter reporting zero, i.e. 'not at all' anxious during the previous day. This report brings together initial experimental results looking at individuals' assessment of their own well-being. Four key questions to help assess people's own individual well-being were placed on ONS household surveys from April 2011 as part of the development to supplement traditional measures of economic progress to better understand and monitor the nation's well-being. The estimates published today are based on around 4,200 adults (aged 16 and over) who answered these questions in the ONS Opinions Survey, from across Great Britain between April and August 2011. Results show that: • When asked, 'Overall, how satisfied are you with your life nowadays?' the majority (76 per cent) of people were estimated to have a rating of 7 out 10 or more. However, a minority (8 per cent) were estimated to be below 5 out of 10. The mean score for this question was 7.4 out of 10. • When asked, 'Overall, to what extent do you think the things you do in your life are worthwhile?' a slightly larger proportion (78 per cent) of people rated this at 7 or more out of 10. A lower proportion of adults gave lower ratings to this question, with 6 per cent giving a rating below 5 out of 10. The mean score for the 'worthwhile' question was higher than the 'life satisfaction' question at 7.6 out of 10. • When asked, 'Overall, how happy did you feel yesterday?' again the majority (73 per cent) of adults responded with 7 or more out of 10. However, the spread of ratings was wider than for the 'life satisfaction' and 'worthwhile' questions. A higher proportion of people had higher ratings (36 per cent giving 9 or 10 out of 10) to the 'happy yesterday' question as well as lower scores (12 per cent below 5 out of 10). The mean score for the 'happiness yesterday' question was 7.4 out of 10. • When asked, 'Overall, how anxious did you feel yesterday?' over half (57 per cent) had ratings of less than 4 out of 10, a sizeable proportion (27 per cent) of people had ratings above 5 out of 10 (that is, closer to 10, feeling 'completely anxious' than 0, 'not at all anxious'). The mean score for this question was 3.4 out of 10. The four questions reported above were also seen to be linked with other areas which were identified as important for measuring national well-being as part of the national debate. Having a partner and reporting to be in good health were positively associated with 'life satisfaction', 'worthwhile' and 'happiness yesterday'. People who were unemployed reported lower levels on average compared with those who were employed. Additional questions were also asked on the Opinions Survey over the period including satisfaction with aspects of life. Satisfaction with 'financial situation' (6.2 out of 10) had the lowest mean score, followed by 'work situation' (6.7 out of 10) and also 'with time to do the things you like doing' (6.8 out of 10). When asked specifically about satisfaction with the balance between 'time spent on paid work and on other aspects of life', even lower scores were given, with an average of 6.4 out of 10. However, people were most satisfied on average with their 'personal relationships' and 'mental well-being' which had the highest mean scores (both at 8.3 out of 10). ONS will publish further experimental estimates from the Integrated Household Survey, which will ask the four overall monitoring questions of around 200,000 adults over the year and will allow for analysis below the national level such as regional variations and for more detailed sub-groups of the population. Background notes The full research report can be found at http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-subjective-wellbeing-in-the-uk/investigation-of-subjective-well-being-data-from-the-ons-opinions-survey/initial-investigation-into-subjective-well-being-from-the-opinions-survey.html. Experimental statistics are those which are in the testing phase, are not yet fully developed and have not been submitted for assessment to the UK Statistics Authority. They are published to involve users at an early stage in their development. The Opinions Survey which is being used by ONS to test and develop subjective well-being questions. This survey has a much smaller sample size than the other social surveys that ONS is asking these questions on. In July 2012, ONS are publishing the Opinions Survey estimates to involve users at an early stage in the development of the large sample results and this report also aims to help get feedback on the presentation of these statistics from users. The Measuring National Well-being programme was launched in November 2010 to provide a fuller understanding of how society is doing than economic measures, such as GDP. It started with a three month national debate on 'What matters to you?' to improve understanding of what should be included in measures of the nation's well-being. Measuring What Matters: National Statistician's Reflections on the National Debate on Measuring National Well-being was published in July 2011. On 31 October ONS started a consultation on the proposed domains and headline indicators for measuring national well-being. The consultation paper suggests that individual well-being is central to the measurement of national well-being and the estimates published today are an important part of making an a full assessment of the nation's well-being. The first annual experimental set of data from the Integrated Household Survey (IHS) will be available in July 2012 with further interim results from 6 months of the Annual Population Survey (APS), the largest constituent survey of the IHS, available in early 2012 which will have a sample size of around 80,000 adults answering the questions. There was a sample size of around 4,200 adults for the 4 overall monitoring questions in the Opinions Survey and around 1,000 adults for additional questions asked in individual months. The data were collected in April, June, July and August 2011 and relate to Great Britain. Questions were not asked in May 2011 as ONS interviewers were carrying out the Census Coverage Survey. Follow us on www.twitter.com/statisticsONS or join us at www.facebook.com/statisticsONS View the latest podcasts on well-being at www.youtube.com/ONSstats http://www.swenvo.org.uk/news/all-news/?entryid9=50727 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:22:00 GMT 20111201142200 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:22:00 GMT 20111201142200 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:29:11 GMT 201112011422911 You can now read the consolidated SWO network response on the government's draft National Planning Policy framework Consultation (NPPF), submitted on Monday 17 October. From the response summary: > SWO welcomes the aims of the draft NPPF to provide a short and clear statement of Government policy, while recognising the complexity of applying the principles of sustainable development in practice. > Concerns have however been raised around the clarity and consistency of some of the terminology used which we feel would benefit from revision. Clear guidance, particularly regarding the intention to devolve power for planning to local communities, will be key to the success of the framework. We would like to offer a number of points for your consideration. These include issues around: the presumtion in favour of sustainable development; the implications for local plans and core strategies; localism and community involvement in planning; the evidence base and monitoring. Download our consultation response here. http://www.swenvo.org.uk/news/all-news/?entryid9=50325 Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:41:20 GMT 20111019124120 Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:41:20 GMT 20111019124120 Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:47:32 GMT 2011101912124732 NEW ON THE HOUSING AND PLANNING SITE! Access our new interactive planning maps for the South and South West areas (from Cornwall / Scilly to Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Hampshire). Navigate between the maps and click on local authority areas to access the most relevant external planning sites. http://www.swenvo.org.uk/news/all-news/?entryid9=50268 Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:49:55 GMT 20111013174955 Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:49:55 GMT 20111013174955 Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:53:13 GMT 201110131755313 Bookings are now open for the remainder of our Research Methods and Statistics Training Programme, being run in partnership with Plymouth University. Find attached flyer detailing dates and content. All events will be held at the South West Observatory Core Unit offices, in Taunton. Several of you have already attended the Introductory Statistics course, which has been well received. Comments have included: “Very clear presentation and patience in asking lots of questions” “Excellent teaching – thank you!” “Trainer developed a well put together session which was relevant to my current and future roles” Please do get in touch if you have any questions about the programme - enquiries@swo.org.uk http://www.swenvo.org.uk/news/all-news/?entryid9=50088 Wed, 21 Sep 2011 09:29:17 GMT 20110921092917 Wed, 21 Sep 2011 09:29:17 GMT 20110921092917 Wed, 21 Sep 2011 10:14:11 GMT 2011092110101411 A series of local reports revealing the level of deprivation faced by people living in villages, towns and cities across the South West are available on the South West Observatory website www.swo.org.uk from today. Analysis and maps drawn from 2010 'Indices of Multiple Deprivation' data, released by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) in March this year, highlight pockets of high poverty within South West cities as well as some of its more rural areas. Key Facts > The majority of deprived areas in England (98%) are located in cities. > The South West follows a similar pattern, with the greatest number of deprived areas existing in the Bristol local authority area. > Torbay, Bristol and Plymouth have the greatest proportions of their populations living in deprivation. Around 1 in 10 people living in these areas live in some of the 10% most deprived areas nationally. > Seven small areas in the South West are among the most deprived 1% of all areas in England. The two most deprived of these are in Boscombe West ward in Bournemouth, and within Weston-super-Mare ward in North Somerset. A further 13 areas are within the 2% most deprived nationally. > The most widespread type of deprivation in the South West relates to barriers to housing and services. This applies in particular to small rural areas in Cornwall, Dorset and Somerset and includes access to home ownership, which reflects the ratio of house prices to average income; and road distance to local amenities which reflects reality in rural areas, but does not take into account access to private or public transport. Deprivation in Bristol and other urban areas tends to relate more to education, the living environment (such as condition of housing) and crime. http://www.swenvo.org.uk/news/all-news/?entryid9=48883 Tue, 28 Jun 2011 15:01:17 GMT 20110628150117 Tue, 28 Jun 2011 15:01:17 GMT 20110628150117 Tue, 28 Jun 2011 15:04:23 GMT 201106281530423 Find out more on how to engage with legislation and influence the process with this new SWO briefing note: Understanding and Influencing the Legislative Process. Please feel free to share this note with friends and colleagues. http://www.swenvo.org.uk/news/all-news/?entryid9=47873 Mon, 16 May 2011 14:07:29 GMT 20110516140729 Mon, 16 May 2011 14:07:29 GMT 20110516140729 Mon, 16 May 2011 14:10:05 GMT 201105161421005 Housing and planning policy is undergoing a major change under the Coalition Government. Itspolicy is to remove and reduce top-down methods of regulation and performance managementin favour of a localist and community-empowered approach. Much of this shift is enshrined inthe Localism Bill. The Communities and Local Government Select Committee's response to theabolition of Regional Spatial Strategies is something of a response to that change, recommendingstrategic and Government-led approaches to mitigate some of the perceived risks of theCoalition's programme. This briefing gives an update on new housing and planning- related legislation currentlyprogressing through Parliament, information on latest housing and planning policy, and providesan update on the Cala Homes court case. Download it now! http://www.swenvo.org.uk/news/all-news/?entryid9=47494 Thu, 07 Apr 2011 16:19:07 GMT 20110407161907 Thu, 07 Apr 2011 16:19:07 GMT 20110407161907 Thu, 07 Apr 2011 16:23:35 GMT 201104071642335