Social indicators and living conditions in the Netherlands

The Dutch Social en Cultural Planning Office (SCP) monitors social changes and social services, evaluates social policies, gives information about expected developments in the future and gives recommendations for further policy. Key issues are the assessment of economic, demographic and social changes and the influence of these factors on the social and living conditions of the population. The SCP uses social and economic indicators to examine these developments. Besides researching specific themes (such as social exclusion, the consequences of long-term unemployment, the social position of the elderly and use, costs and productivity of social services) the SCP has developed an overall monitoring tool for the living conditions: the living conditions index (LCI). Nowadays the index is composed of indicators which reflect conditions in eight areas: housing, health, consumer durables, leisure activity, sport activity, social participation, mobility and holiday. In the future, the SCP will attempt to develop a conceptual model that will link the living conditions index to other social indices like livability (housing and level of services), poverty and socioeconomic deprivation.