The concept of wellbeing has been included in policy literature in the four nations of the UK since the early 2000s, with a specific focus on social care from around 2011 (although there was reference to wellbeing as early as 1968 in the Seebohm report which recommended the creation of local authority social services departments to “enable the greatest possible number of individuals to act reciprocally, giving and receiving service for the well-being of the whole community” [p180]). Two main waves of political interest in wellbeing have been identified. The first, in the 1960s, highlighted that Gross Domestic Product (GDP)/ Gross National Product (GNP) were imperfect means of measuring how well a society is functioning. It sparked an interest in developing other social indicators, stalled in the 1970s (as nations entered recession) and re-emerged in the 1990s as interest in wellbeing, including in developing countries, revived.
In the UK, Prime Minister David’s Cameron’s 2010 speech on wellbeing and the need for more precise measurement of the concept is seen as a key point in establishing wellbeing as a policy priority. A so-called ‘watershed’ speech, it called for measures of wellbeing to assist in assessing Britain’s progress in more than merely economic terms. Cameron challenged three notions. First, he refuted the idea that wellbeing is a distraction from the ‘urgent economic tasks at hand’, citing Robert Kennedy. Second, he contested the notion that improving wellbeing is ‘beyond the realm of government’, citing Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen. Third, he questioned the idea that wellbeing is a woolly, poorly defined concept and thus hard to measure. In response, the UK’s Office for National Statistics created a national programme to develop measures of wellbeing and an ensuing national debate on ‘what matters to you’ led to the development of a national wellbeing measurement framework with objective (e.g. employment, life expectancy) and subjective (e.g. life satisfaction, anxiety, meaningfulness) measures.
This review summarises main policy developments on wellbeing in the field of adult social care since 2000 in the four nations of the UK.
Policy Perspectives series (2018)
The Sustainable Care research programme aims to explore the sustainability of care, currently in crisis, and to consider how it can deliver wellbeing outcomes. To set the context for the research, and to contribute to the forthcoming government consultation on social care, 7 ‘Re-Imagining Care’ Round Table events were held to debate key research topics being considered within the programme.
Attendees at these events included key Partners to the Sustainable Care programme as well as external guests to help frame the discussions using their valuable experience. As a result of the Round Table events, Policy Perspectives have now been created which give insight into the topics discussed and the recommendations debated during these events.
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Brexit, migration, mobility and the care crisis
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Supporting carers to work and care
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Migrant care workers and their future in the UK context
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How can we create better jobs in care?
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Ageing well at home: emergent models of home care provision and the professionalisation of the home care workforce
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The role of technology in making care arrangements sustainable
