menu_open Columnists
We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

I started filling out a survey – and was plunged into serious soul-searching

23 0
16.07.2026

Have I done any hang-gliding in the last four weeks? Hang on (no pun intended), let me think. No, not as far as I can recall. No hang-gliding. Will leave that box unticked.

Filling in the National Survey for Wales is a dizzying experience. One minute you’re exasperated with how long this trivial pursuit is taking, the next you’re into some serious soul-searching. Guilt-inducing, thought-provoking, sometimes moving. There’s a lot going on.

They give you a £15 voucher for your trouble. At first this feels overgenerous. Half an hour later – as you grope around in rabbit holes trying to remember what pulses you ate yesterday, or how many minutes you spent walking each day last week – it starts to feel as if they’re not paying enough. But by the time I was done I was wondering if it was me who should be paying them for a) taking the trouble to ask and b) giving me something to think about.

This annual survey is commissioned by the Welsh government with the aim of finding out........

© The Guardian