(Title Image: Senedd Cymru)
Public Accounts Committee
Delivering for Future Generations (pdf)
Published: 17th March 2021
The Wellbeing of Future Generations Act was one of the landmark laws of the Fourth Senedd. It places a duty on Welsh public bodies to consider the impact on future generations when making decisions and also created the post of Future Generations Commissioner to act as a watchdog.
Public bodies were, broadly-speaking, aware of the Act, but the working culture hasn’t matched pace with the reforms introduced by the Act on long-term thinking. Awareness amongst the public, however, is fairly low – which didn’t surprise the committee that much given that it’s a complicated law that’s perhaps detached from their everyday lives.
One of the biggest barriers to the Act’s implementation uncovered by the committee was long-term funding. Budgets were often short-term and changed significantly year-on-year. The Committee didn’t believe the Welsh Government showed enough of a commitment to promote the Act early on.
Flintshire Council, rather bluntly, said the Act encourages or expects perfect working conditions such as multi-year budgets, time and resources for research and seamless partnership working with other organisations. It was difficult to change a working culture when budgets were being cut or capped.
Another criticism was the tangled web of bodies and organisations involved in partnership working including Regional Partnership Boards (social services), Public Service Boards, City Regions, and the soon-to-be-created Corporate Joint Committees.
This was seen as being too over-elaborate and ties in, partially, to a failure to properly reorganise and reform local government. However, Corporate Joint Committees are seen as a future replacement for some of these partnership bodies.
In terms of the positives, there was general praise for the relatively high-profile of the Future Generations Commissioner, Sophie Howe, and her office’s work raising awareness of the Act amongst the public sector.
The levels of knowledge around sustainable development amongst the office’s staff were seen as useful, though there were some criticisms of a lack of practical help as well as an understanding of the pressures some public bodies were facing. Some of the material from the office was also described as “impenetrable” and “difficult to access by ordinary people”.
The Committee recommended that the Commissioner’s role should move away from promoting the act to supporting delivery by public bodies.
Other recommendations include ensuring the Senedd can properly scrutinise a cross-portfolio law such as the Future Generations Act, as well as the Welsh Government reviewing the public bodies subject to the Act and the funding of Public Service Boards.
