§ Mr. ChaytorTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what research he has commissioned on methodologies for the calculation of gross domestic product which take account of social and environmental costs of economic and industrial activities. [67676]
§ Mrs. Roche[holding answer 28 January 1999]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. David Chaytor, dated 4 February 1999:
As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question on the calculation of gross domestic product (GDP).The calculation of an adjusted GDP to take account of social and environmental costs would involve the choice of weights for a wide range of possible factors such as health, education, unemployment, air and water pollution, depletion of oil and gas reserves, loss 724W of natural habitats and biodiversity, and then the assignment of monetary values to each of these components. The ONS does not believe that it is feasible to produce such a measure.The Government Statistical Service is trying to take account of the social and environmental effects of economic activities by other methods. The ONS is working on extending and improving the environmental accounts, which link some of the major environmental impacts of economic and industrial activities, such as air pollution, to the standard National Accounts; while statisticians in the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions have produced a set of Sustainable Development Indicators covering a range of economic, environmental and social factors to monitor progress in the Government's strategy for Sustainable Development.