RSPH has welcomed a report from the New Economics Foundation (NEF) published today (26 October 2015), proposing a selection of new headline indicators for national success that go beyond traditional narrow economic measures, such as GDP. The proposed measures are Good Jobs, Wellbeing, Environment, Fairness and Health. The NEF says these should be adopted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in order to guide policy making that better relates to what really matters to the UK public.

Shirley Cramer CBE, Chief Executive, RSPH said:  “More and more, thought leaders and policy makers in the UK and around the world are starting to recognise that the success of a nation is about much more than gross domestic product. We are delighted to see Health and Wellbeing recognised by the New Economics Foundation as headline indicators, and encourage the Office for National Statistics to adopt them. The public’s health, and the social determinants of public health, should always be a key consideration in responsible policy making – a prerequisite, rather than a ‘nice to have’. We need to get away from the bad old days of making policy for short term economic gain at the expense of people’s long term health and wellbeing. Ultimately, this will have benefits for the economy, too – a healthy and happy workforce is a productive workforce.”